


Black Fire

by TheUnkindledQueen



Series: Playing With Fire [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Childhood Trauma, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, also i watched avatar again for the first time in years and decided to post this here, an older fic i'd written a long time ago and reworked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23560645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUnkindledQueen/pseuds/TheUnkindledQueen
Summary: It's hard for anyone to see past someone's flaws and find the beauty. But not for one individual who cannot get her off of her mind. And no matter what it takes, be it death or shame, she will find a way to prove her love. - Azula x OC -
Relationships: Azula (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Playing With Fire [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2041030
Comments: 1
Kudos: 102





	1. The Return

**Author's Note:**

> "I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you."  
> -Valentine's Day; Unknown Quote
> 
> "We trust our secrets to our friends, but they escape from us in love. [Fr., L'on confie son secret dans l'amitie, mais il echappe dans l'amour.]"  
> -Jean de la Bruyere

~O~

_Earth Kingdom_

Sen was standing with one foot pinning an earthbender with her heel at his head. The man was whimpering in pain, bloodied and burned. Her bird mask glittered in the light of the sun. She was adjusting her spiked gauntlets made up of Sky Metal.

The flag of her group, the Sea Ravens stood out among the destruction as she watched them clean up the village and take what they needed.

"Captain!"

Sen tilted her head toward the voice calling for her. Jia, one of her fellow Sea Ravens. She was only a year younger than Sen.

They were all children, really; but warriors of their own caliber and strength.

"Sen!" Jia was approaching with a scroll. "I have a message from the Fire Lord!"

Sen's eyes widened slightly behind her mask. She couldn't resist being a little excited to hear that news.

Her young voice was slightly accented. Born from the Eastern side of the Fire Nation gave her that.

She reached out to take the scroll. "I'll read it. But first, I will need this one to be quiet."

She pressed her heel harder into the whimpering man and he yelped before going silent. Jia grinned and laughed down at his misery.

Sen studied the letter for the longest time, silently reading the message to herself. She glanced up at Jia and gave her a small nod in response. This was good. She would return to the Fire Nation once more.

"You!"

The two turned, facing one remaining earth bender. He had been burned from the battle, his stance weak and lacking any resolve. But his eyes told a different story. He was angry, willing to fight to his last breath.

"We seem to have a dirt thrower willing to die for his country," Sen crooned, rolling up the scroll and slipping it into her armor. "Shall I oblige you?"

"I won't surrender!" the bender spat, panting weakly. "You can beat me down as often as you like, you savages!"

"Oh! That hurts. He called us savages!" Jia sighed dramatically, glancing briefly to Sen. "Captain, you want this one? I'm heading back to the ship with Nanae."

Sen's eyes narrowed venomously behind her mask and it seemed to make the bender before her wither in fright.

She was a child. How could someone so young stand so vast and so terrifying?

Sen let out a fierce, powerful shout and unleashed a blast of fire.

It was violet.

The earth bender's eyes widened, shocked by the sight of it; letting his guard down momentarily before he was incinerated by the blaze.

O

_Fire Nation Capital_

Civilians stopped to stare at the new group of fire benders as they rode on by down the streets on their Komodo Rhino's.

The small group of precisely twenty soldiers consisted of only females and they were dressed in the standard Fire Nation military uniform. They wore peculiar sigils on their chests which looked somewhat like a black bird against two broad swords. The females looked gruff, mean and particularly beautiful too to the watchers.

Sen spoke nothing, but held her head high with all the pride of a noblewoman.

Sen was and had been a military genius since she was seven years old before her father and admiral of his fleet, Arashi left her family to pursue his own goals when she had turned thirteen.

Her mother, Chikako was always the quiet, tolerant woman who, despite her best intentions, stayed silent when Sen received her punishment.

Even as a child, she was unwanted by her father. Admiral Arashi had always wanted a son and when Sen was born, he had given her the name purely to be cruel. A simple dull name which meant nothing in the Fire Nation. She wasn't entirely positive that it was even a Fire Nation name.

Still, her father's cruelty had left her...burned. One day he had lashed out in anger and frustration, rendering her unable to really show her face.

Fifteen years old now, she had learned to always stay on top and conquer whatever she could on the battlefield. She was fierce and primal as he had taught her to be. Her massive height was part of that advantage as it struck fear in the hearts of her enemies.

Just then, a young girl rushed out into the street, chasing a ball and moments away from being trampled by the Komodo Rhino the leader was riding.

The creature let out a gruff snort and skidded to a halt, kicking up dust in the child's frightened face.

"Steady, Wataru..." Sen told the animal.

The child stood there, staring up at the massive creature and the Fire Nation woman who stared down at her with frigid yellow eyes behind that mask. The child swallowed hard and smiled nervously, expecting to be punished.

Instead, Sen made a gesture with her head for the child to move along and she quickly rushed off with a yelp.

"I can't believe we've been invited by the Fire Lord himself!" Jia said, delight in her voice. "Sen! Aren't you excited?"

Sen certainly was, but she wouldn't ever say why she was excited. "I don't need to remind you how important this trip is to us, Jia," she told her. "I expect us all to be on our best behavior the entire time. Am I clear?"

"Of course you're clear, Sen." Jia leaned back on her Komodo Rhino with a groan of boredom. "Work first, fun later. It'll be like that mission at the Earth Kingdom docks. You know, the one with the three guards?"

"Yes, that one."

A giggle from another officer behind her. "Sen sent him running scared!"

"I think he peed himself, too!"

When they arrived at the palace, they were greeted by Lo and Li; the two advisers bowed their heads.

"Welcome, Sea Ravens, welcome!" the two greeted, "Come, the Fire Lord is expecting you."

Sen stepped down from Wataru and the others followed suit. She led them deep into the marvelous palace of the Fire Lord.

"Ahh, Captain Sen!"

The low, powerful voice of Fire Lord Ozai interrupted Sen's thoughts and she straightened up as well as her soldiers as they had been instructed to do when facing their Lord.

The tall, intimidating appearance of the Fire Lord cast his shadow over them as he surveyed the females with silent amusement and scrutiny. Was he either amused that they were all female, or the fact that they were so young? Either way, he could not deny that he was impressed.

"Your reputation has reached my ears, ladies," Ozai purred, "I hope that everything that I have heard is true."

Jia saluted him. "Thank you, my Lord. It's all Sen's doing. She has led us to glorious battles like none we've ever seen!"

He stopped in front of Sen and squinted at her mask.

"My Lord?" Sen finally spoke.

Ozai tapped one long finger against the cold, metal mask. "You will not wear that mask in the presence of the Fire Lord, Captain Sen," he told her, turning his back briefly, "Take it off."

The soldiers behind her reacted only the slightest with a few uncomfortable murmurs, scratches behind their heads and dismissive glances around them. They knew what kind of request that was to Sen.

Sen suddenly felt a small glimmer of unease as well.

Taking her mask off meant revealing her shame. Revealing her shame meant exposing herself and that was something she could not do.

But still, she was fiercely loyal to her nation and could not deny the Fire Lord, no matter what. So her hands slowly and carefully removed the mask from her face.

Expecting to receive disgust for her appearance, Ozai surprised her by slightly widening his eyes.

"My, those are quite the nasty burns you have there," he said, almost as if her physical infliction fascinated him, "I take it you received the same punishment that my son had in the past? Who was it that you shamed so badly?"

Sen's entire right half of her face had been horribly burned and her lips permanently formed a horrific grimace on that side.

Most of her hair on that side had been burned off as well. If she removed her spiked gauntlets, the burns would be visible on her hands from when she had attempted to shield her face from the attack. She had difficulty seeing out of her eye where the burns were severe, but it did not impede her vision entirely.

She was uncomfortable feeling this exposed, but she addressed him with strength and resolve. "My father gave me these burns, my Lord," Sen told him, not noticing Azula walking into the throne room.

Ozai chuckled dryly, as if the concept amused him because of the uncanny similarities between her father giving her the burns and himself giving his son his mark. Although a bit more severe than Zuko's, she didn't seem shamed of them the way his son was.

Oh well, he had more important matters to attend to other than the Captain's personal problems. As he turned, he noticed Azula there and gestured with one hand.

"My daughter, Princess Azula," he announced.

Sen's eyes slightly widened at the presence of the princess there and she almost forgot to bow in the way the others behind her did. She was struck to finally be there at her side after all these years of knowing her as a child.

When Sen and Azula had met, it had been during a military meeting with their fathers, one that Sen had been forced to accompany her father to. They were outside with her brother and Azula's two other friends, Mai and Ty Lee.

Azula just stared at her with a bored expression, really not making such a deal over the girl's burned face as Sen often expected of people. She was afraid of the princess seeing her like this and feeling utterly disgusting to be in her presence.

But Azula didn't mock her for it. Instead, she just gestured to her own and tittered with a comical expression on her face.

"Well, so you're the great Captain Sen of the Sea Ravens, are you? You look even worse than my brother," she said, "You must've done something really bad to get that kind of damage. That or you're the worst Captain in the navy."

Sen gave a quiet, awkward laugh. Well, it seemed to be better than she believed.

Ozai didn't share in her amusement. He stared down at his daughter sternly, brow furrowed in a grimace that said he was in no mood for her foolishness. "Azula..." he warned.

Sen however, wasn't even the slightest bit insulted by the jeer at all. In fact, she could only wish that she had something to say to the princess at all. But it had been years. What could she do?

But now that she was in the princess' presence and old enough to speak her feelings, it suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea what to say first. What could she tell her? What would be appropriate? Fortunately, Ozai was the first to speak before she could look like an idiot in front of her.

"Would you care to join us for dinner, Captain?" he suggested, "We can discuss our affairs then."

Sen gave Azula one quick glance before she nodded and saluted the Fire Lord.

O

Dinner with the Fire Lord had truly been an honor.

Sen was placed at the end of the table, no where near the royal family. Still, she was happy to have been invited, to spend time discussing Fire Lord Ozai's wishes for her place among them and her Sea Ravens.

"Your brutal in combat," Ozai said, drawing Sen's focus to him. He was smiling. "Who trained you?"

"My father."

"Who was your father?"

"Admiral Arashi."

Ozai's features lit up with amusement, but his tone was bordering condescending. "Yes! I remember Arashi. Quite the sycophant. But his breeding was superb. You are as your father made you."

Sen stared at him, impassive. Azula had been intently focusing on her food for a moment before she smiled at Sen.

After dinner, Sen was performing a demonstration of her bending style before the Fire Lord with the Royal Fire Benders. Her movements were fierce and brutal, lacking typical Fire Bending finesse.

"She's quite a brutal warrior," Ozai remarked, watching the demonstration with approval, "She would be better suited to work closely with us."

"Father, I think Sen should accompany me while I track Iroh and Zuko."

Ozai made a thoughtful noise. "Yes, I find Sen to be particularly useful."

Sen took hold of the Royal Fire Bender's arm, twisted and delivered a blow to his face with her other elbow. He folded to the ground with a groan of pain and she looked down at him with a thin smile.

"Your technique needs work," she told him.

"Captain." Ozai addressed her.

Sen released the man and saluted the Fire Lord. "My Lord?" she said.

"My daughter thinks you should work for her. What do you say?"

Sen's expression was impassive, but inside, she was thrilled by the idea. Working with Azula meant she had a chance to tell her how she felt.

But her education taught her to maintain her excitement. "I cannot say, my Lord. Your will stands above my preferences."

Ozai nodded. "Well said."

Azula stepped forward, looking up at Sen. "Captain, you have a second, don't you?" she asked.

Sen nodded her head. "Of course, Princess. It's Jia."

"She can handle the affairs of your little group, can't she?"

"I have no doubt."

A smirk touched Azula's face.

That evening, Sen was spending her time in the quarters of her ship working on a letter.

Every day, she would write a letter and pretend to mail it to Azula, proclaiming her feelings, but she would chicken out at the last second and rip it to pieces.

But as she started writing, the brush carefully printing out every syllable on the scroll, she began to grow more and more courageous with her words. A smile lit the good side of her face:

_I cannot begin to describe my feelings in words, but I will try not to bore you, my dear. My heart wishes to say what my lips cannot, what my mind will not let me. When I look at you, I do not see a lady to fear and despise, I see beauty, magnificence and radiance beyond even the spirits above. I wish to reach out to you, but fear you will not have me. Rejection ties me down on a thick rope to the ground while the insects mock me for my cowardice._

_I understand someone as lovely as yourself would rather have someone other than me, but I can only keep writing, keep hoping that someday, I would have the courage to speak to you about how I feel. Hopefully, I will not feel frightened of rejection and I can only wish that you would love me in return. I -_

Sen groaned, rolled her eyes and bunched up the paper in one hand. It was never perfect enough for her. Every word felt wrong.

"Sen."

She looked up, spotting Jia standing in the door. The other girl looked troubled by her expression and Sen let out a sigh, leaning back in her chair.

"What?" she asked, her tone a touch colder than she'd intended.

Jia was surprised by the tone and Sen looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry. I've had a lot on my mind today. I probably won't sleep."

Jia nodded in agreement. She still seemed troubled, but was slightly more relieved and even a bit excited.

"Well..." she said, "You're working for the Fire Lord now! It's exciting, isn't it?"

"You're saying that because you get to run things with the Sea Ravens, aren't you?"

Jia made a face, pouting with amusement now. "Aww, you have no faith in me, do you?"

"Well..."

Sen bid her away with a single wave of her hand. "Alright. Unless you have anything to tell me, let me be. I need to plan for tomorrow."

"Okay. Get some sleep. We're planning a celebration in the morning for your departure." Jia told her.

Sen groaned a little. "Don't make it like the one two years ago."

Jia laughed, starting to walk away. "I told you I didn't steal that Catgator."

"Yes, and that's why we had the village attack us in the night."

"And they regretted it, remember?"

"Well, yes, but still."

Sen chuckled a little as Jia departed. Her smile disappeared when she looked down at the crumbled letter on the floor. How many had she written in her time? More than she could count.

How would she ever tell Azula? She wasn't worthy enough.

Try. That was all she could do. Maybe she'd one day find her courage.

O

"Quite the ship."

Azula marveled over Sen's massive warship, running her fingers over the railing. The figurehead was an enormous Sea Raven head - more of a frightening skull - painted in black with flaming eyes.

Sen followed behind her, arms behind her back. "Thank you, Princess." she said, with a smile behind her mask. She was proud.

"This ship, it certainly strikes fear in the hearts of your enemies." Azula smirked as she said this.

"Well, they don't have much time to be afraid of the ship when we arrive."

Azula laughed a little and Sen blushed behind her mask at the noise. She was glad Azula couldn't see it. The sound of her laughter thrilled her.

"We're going to be taking my ship," Azula continued, "We need a small, elite team with us when we hunt my brother and uncle. They are traitors of the Fire Nation. They will be found and anyone harboring them will face the wrath of my father."

"Of course."

Sen was fine with venturing on Azula's ship. In fact, she considered it a high honor; she could watch the ocean waters as they set sail to seek out one of Azula's friends.

Lo and Li, Azula's advisors were observing Azula as she practiced bending. Sen kept a suitable distance as she watched. Azula moved her arms in a circular motion, generating lightning and firing the bolt into the sky

"Almost perfect." Lo said.

"One hair out of place." Li agreed.

Azula scowled at the offending strand of hair that had fallen over her eyes. "Almost isn't good enough!"

She repeated her actions, generating lightning again and firing it off into the distance.

The ship arrived and Sen followed Azula into a camp filled with circuis tents, attractions and carnival folk. Azula approached someone standing on her index fingers.

"Ty Lee, could that possibly be you?" she questioned.

Ty Lee was a young girl who seemed to smile brightly when she saw Azula.

"Azula!" she cried, her voice bubbly and sweet.

She flipped from her stance and spun around in a graceful twirl to bow down before Azula. Then, she ran and embraced her friend.

"It is so good to see you!" Ty Lee told her.

Azula parted, studying her with a thoughtful frown. "Please, don't let me interrupt your...whatever it is you were doing."

Ty Lee, still smiling, performed a back flip and ended up lying on her chest with one leg stretched out over her head and the other straight up to the sky. She noticed Sen standing there now and lit up.

"Oh! Who's this?" she asked. "Nice mask."

Sen bowed her head once. "Thank you."

"And tall, too!" Ty Lee continued to grin.

"Yes, Sen is the Captain of the Sea Raven group," Azula explained, "She's accepted my proposition and I have the same one for you. I'm hunting a traitor. You remember my old fuddy-duddy uncle, don't you?"

Ty Lee grinned, nodding. "Oh yeah. He was so funny."

"I would be honored if you would join me on my mission."

Sen barely listened to Ty Lee insist that she had plans for her life. How she was happy being in the circus. She only watched Azula's face; reading the cunning, the planning she was going to do.

That evening, she attended the performance Ty Lee was in and insisted that Sen remain on the ship. It was fine, really. She didn't care for the two advisors talking with her as she preferred to keep to herself. But they were interested in observing her bending.

"There's an unrefinement to your motions," Lo told her.

"A fierceness you don't find in many Fire Benders." Li added.

Sen tilted her head toward them. "My father trained me in a more...brutal way of bending," she explained, hesitantly. She didn't want to talk much about it.

The sound of approaching heels turned her attention to the gangwalk and she spotted Azula and Ty Lee approaching them.

She was happy to see Azula smiling.

It gave her hope in her return to the Fire Nation.


	2. Omashu

~O~

Sen had never seen the city of Omashi before.

A royal palanquin was being carried up the stairs toward the house of the governor and Sen rode alongside it on her Komodo Rhino. She noticed the strange, worried looks and how people seemed more distraught that usual. Something was different about it. She was used to fear. This wasn't fear.

At the base of the next flight stairs, the lonely figure of Mai awaited the arrival of the palanquin. Sen had been briefed on who she was by Ty Lee; the other girl certainly liked to talk a lot.

None of them remembered her.

They didn't remember when she spent time in the Fire Nation palace as a child when her father would visit. She didn't know how to play like a normal child; she only tried a few times when Azula had tried to get her involved.

But they didn't know that. Sen didn't blame them for forgetting her, really. She was of noble heritage, but she wasn't a memorable child. She had moved on and left. Surely Azula had spent time with others and forgot her quickly.

It was hurtful to think about, but Sen really wasn't surprised, much. Azula was the Princess, after all. She had others to think of.

Azula stepped out of her palanquin and she and Ty Lee walked over to Mai. Sen maintained her distance as she dismounted Wataru. Mai put her hands together and bowed slightly toward Azula.

"Please tell me you're here to kill me." she said, in a sotto voice.

Mai looked up at Azula from her bow and a smile lit her lips. They shared a laugh and Azula placed her hands on Mai's shoulders.

"It's great to see you, Mai." she told her.

Ty Lee rushed forward to give Mai a big hug. Mai uncomfortably patted her back a little with her left hand.

"I thought you ran off and joined the circus. You said it was your calling." she said.

Ty Lee gave a little laugh and released her. "Well, Azula called a little louder."

Mai glanced up at Sen. "Who's this?"

"This is Captain Sen. She commands the Sea Ravens, but she's joining us for Azula's mission," Ty Lee explained.

Mai reacted slightly. A subtle change to her usual bored expression. "I've heard about you. You guys are pretty famous in the villages." she said, "You don't like to leave survivors."

Sen smiled behind her mask. "No. I like to work quickly and efficiently. The Throne is always watching. I would hate to disappoint my...nation."

She hesitated and gave a side glance to Azula, who smiled her approval. Every little bit of it made her happy.

"Wait..." Mai pointed at her. "Sen... I know that name from somewhere else. Weren't you that weird girl who sat by herself a lot in the garden when we were kids?"

Sen gave a nervous laugh when she felt the other two regard her with curiosity. Azula squinted before she crowed with laughter, studying Sen in a new light. The larger girl wished she hadn't been put on the spot like this.

"Why, Mai, I think you're right!" Azula said. "How could I forget?"

Sen was initially glad to have her mask simply for hiding her burns and the embarrassed blush on her cheeks. Ty Lee laughed with delight and patted her shoulder.

"Wow, I can't believe it's really you! I'm sorry I didn't notice. You do wear that mask a lot." she told her.

"Yeah." Mai agreed. "What's with that, anyway?"

Azula interrupted the conversation and Sen had never been more happy for it. "We can discuss this later. Right now, I have a task for the three of you."

Mai nodded. "I'm with you. Anything to get away from this boring place."

O

Azula sat on the throne of Omashu, flanked by two Fire Nation guards and Sen. The governor and his wife were in front of her, as well as Mai and Ty Lee. Sen was watching them from behind her mask, her focus solely on the couple.

Ukano and Michi.

"I apologize," he said, "You've come to Omashu at a difficult time. At noon we're making a trade with the resistance to get Tom-Tom back."

Azula frowned, patient despite the news. "Yes, I'm so sorry to hear about your son, but really, what did you expect by just letting all the citizens leave?" She rose now, addressing the governor in a harsher tone. "My father has trusted you with this city and you're making a mess of things!"

The governor and his wife prostrated themselves before her.

"Forgive me, Princess." Ukano pleaded.

Azula walked between the four bowing people in front of her, looking down upon the governor.

"You stay here," she told them, "Mai will handle the hostage trade so you don't have a chance to mess it up."

Sen glanced at her. "What will you have me do, Princess?"

"Watch them." Azula ordered, gesturing to the couple. "If there is to be a trade, there could be a problem with this uprising. Make sure no one interferes."

Sen bowed once. "Of course."

The three departed, leaving Sen alone with the governor and his wife. She didn't like the idea of being left out of the action; but Azula's word was her command and she wouldn't want to disappoint her.

She chose to stand watch on the balcony while Michi and Ukano sat together on the cushions, holding one another.

She was distracted, filled with thoughts of the Princess. She adjusted the metal piece that held her cloak to her shoulders.

"Excuse me, may I be excused?"

Sen realized that Michi had spoken, but didn't care to really listen to her. The couple looked at each other when Sen didn't react, unsure.

"Um...Captain?" Ukano questioned, hesitantly. "May my wife be excused to tend to...private matters?"

"I heard you the first time," Sen replied, gruffly, shooting them an irritated look from behind her mask. "And no, she may not. Azula gave me my orders to watch you and I don't want to be running all over the place."

"Please." Michi pleaded, "I need a moment! I'm so worried!"

Sen glanced briefly back at them before she sighed, annoyed.

O

Sen leaned against the wall, eyes dark with irritation.

She was waiting near the door where Michi was just behind it, tending to her private matters. Ukano was nearby, watching the window with uncertainty. He was nervous, Sen could tell. But he was angry, too. She knew how to read others.

"I can't imagine how someone could take a child," Ukano said, "What kind of people just...do that?"

Sen nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Even I have rules. No children."

"Do you think we'll get my son back?"

"I know we will."

"I don't know. I hope that Princess Azula knows what she's doing."

Sen's tone hardened a degree. "Don't speak so disrespectfully about her."

Ukano looked nervous now, raising two hands. "I-I'm not!" he stammered. "I'm just worried about how this might go! I meant no - "

A loud crash behind the door completely turned Sen's focus to it. She scowled now, kicking it open viciously with one leg. Michi was sitting on the floor, holding her head.

And standing over her was a bald, tattooed boy with a glider in hand. He looked apologetic, trying to help her stand. Sen immediately realized who he was - the Avatar. She was familiar with the stories and knew how valuable his presence to the Fire Lord would be.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" he assured her, "I really didn't - Are you okay?"

Sen's eyes narrowed behind her mask. "Avatar!"

Aang looked up at her, glider folding into his staff. He scowled at her and Sen positioned herself in a bending stance. He gave a yelp, narrowly managing to avoid a spray of violet flames from the bender.

"Wait...purple fire?" Aang mumbled, stunned by the sight of it.

"You're real, after all." Sen mused, lowering her hands and pacing around him, a smile in her voice, "So the stories were true."

"Who are you?" Aang demanded.

"Captain Sen of the Sea Ravens." Sen told him. "You have heard of me, I assume."

Aang frowned thoughtfully.

"You're quite the prize. I'd gladly pass up babysitting these two if it means I can bring you to Azula." Sen told him. "It would make her happy, after all. That is what I want."

Aang shook his head firmly. "I'm not going with you."

"Oh! You have two choices, Avatar," Sen told him, tilting her head, "You can come with me peacefully. Or I can break both of your legs and take you myself. Either way, it will be a good show that will earn me the crown's favor."

Aang paled slightly at the threat. Still, he would not back down. "I'm sorry. But that's not happening."

Sen gave a short titter of amusement. Her hand opened and a thick chain unfurled, piling to the floor. She clenched it and it ignited in a blaze of violet fire.

"Good. I hate it when they pick the easy way, anyway." she hissed.

She raised the fiery chain through the air with a shout and Aang gave a cry, ducking and narrowly missing getting hit with it. It clipped the wall, sending Michi and Ukano scattering with several frightened cries.

Sen watched as Aang continuously danced about to avoid her attacks. "You took a child." she hissed, "Where is their son?"

Aang held out one hand beseechingly. "Listen, we didn't mean to take the governor's son!" he insisted. "We will give him back! We were working on a trade, but - "

"But nothing, Avatar. The rules change," Sen interrupted. She inclined her head somewhat, eyes narrowing behind her mask. "Or did you forget that when you turned your back on the world?"

The comment clearly wounded Aang, but he fought to maintain his strength. He whirled, turned and sprinted for the window of the balcony.

Sen's eyes narrowed and she cracked the chain toward him. It caught his ankle and seared his leg. He gave a shout of pain before turning in midair, bending a blast of air that knocked Sen off of her feet with a grunt.

He was released and took to the skies to escape. Sen stood up, watched him go. She took a long, deep inhale.

O

They were planning to rest somewhere for the evening before resuming their journey. Ukano had been gracious with his invite and even so when Tom-Tom had shown up mysteriously on the balcony.

No one had asked, but Sen had a feeling that the Avatar had a part to play in that. After all, she'd certainly shaken him up a bit.

Sen had been preparing for sleep on the far corner of the washroom as the others discussed their next course of action. She preferred to maintain distance at all times. It was just how she was.

"So, we're tracking down your brother and Uncle, huh?" Mai questioned.

Ty Lee looked at Mai with a smile and her tone teasing. "It'll be interesting seeing Zuko again, won't it, Mai?"

Mai looked away as a smile played upon her face.

Azula shook her head. "It's not just Zuko and Iroh anymore. We have a third target now."

Sen washed her arms. She sensed Ty Lee staring at her and turned. The evening clothes were comfortable, but she still felt too scrutinized.

"What?" she asked.

"It's just crazy seeing you again!" Ty Lee told her, with a smile. "And you've changed so much."

Sen glanced down briefly at her muscles, assuming that was the change she spoke of. She gave a small laugh. She noticed Azula staring at her with curiosity and wondered what the Princess was thinking.

"Well, we have certainly time to catch up, don't we? Sen, take that mask off," Azula ordered, "I won't have you wear it right now."

Sen's tone was reluctant, but she bowed her head once and reached behind her, unclasping the mask's straps that held it tightly in place. When the mask was removed, Ty Lee reacted with a shocked noise and Mai raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"What happened to you?" Ty Lee asked.

Sen exhaled slowly, avoiding Azula's eyes. She felt vulnerable having her shame present before her. She probably thought she was ugly.

"My father happened." Sen answered.

"Oh!" Ty Lee nodded her head, disapproving. "He always seemed really mean."

Sen gave her an annoyed frown in response.

"Well, as lovely as it is to catch up, we should rest." Azula advised. "Our search for the Avatar begins early tomorrow morning. I want us all ready."

Sen bowed her head once. "Of course, Princess."

And she departed from the room without another word. She felt her heart skipping the entire time and took a deep inhale, fitting her mask back onto her face hastily.

Azula surely thought she was a fool. So nervous and flustered to be in her presence; but so calm and focused when in battle. It wasn't how she wanted to be seen.

Not weak.

Ever again.

O

Azula was surprised to find Sen standing alone on the balcony, watching the city below. It was early that morning and the other girl had been ready to depart; she was dressed, her mask in place. Her boots were clean, her gauntlets shining. Everything about the other girl commanded perfection. The Princess could certainly appreciate that.

"Sen," Azula said, startling the other girl. With amusement, she watched Sen jump slightly and turn. "You're early."

Sen nodded her head, hands behind her back. "Yes. I always wake up early before I address my Sea Ravens."

"Hm." Azula nodded her approval. "A good leader knows how to keep her girls in line."

Sen laughed quietly.

"Now then, are you ready?" Azula questioned.

"I was born ready, Princess. What you want of me, I will do." Sen promised her, attempting not to sound too enthusiastic. She didn't want to seem overeager.

Azula nodded her approval. "Good." She paused, studying her with a thin smile. "You've changed since we were children. You're not that timid creature you used to be. It was hard getting you to play with us."

Sen found herself relaxed by the questions somewhat. They distracted her from her nervous feeling standing so close to Azula and not knowing quite what to say. She wished she knew. Why was it so difficult?

"Well then. Time to put your skills to the test," Azula told her, "We're going hunting."

Her tone was devious and it certainly got the point across.

Sen was determined to prove herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of this chapter's inspired by the song "Heart's a Mess" by Goyte.


	3. The Chase

~O~

Sen had been working on her letter again.

The words were harder today. She didn't know why. Most of the time, it had been difficult for her to muster the courage to give Azula a letter that described her feelings. But today was strange; she was anxious, unfocused. It wasn't like her.

Suddenly, a hand swooped down and yanked the scroll out from under Sen's hands. She gave a startled gasp and looked up into the goofy, grinning face of Ty Lee who was hanging gracefully from the banister over her desk.

"Ooh, is this a love letter?" she gushed, "How cute!"

Sen scowled and made a snatching gesture. "Give that back, it's mine!"

Ty Lee darted from her grasp and giggled, staying out of reach while Mai looked on from the doorway, bored as always. "Ty Lee, give it back..." she said, in a sotto voice, "Stop messing around. Azula wants us ready."

"Aww!" Ty Lee gushed, swinging from her perch as she read the letter aloud, "Listen to this, Mai, 'I cannot begin to describe my feelings in words, but I will try not to bore you, my dear'..." Her eyes widened and glistened in a goofy way, touched by the words, "Aww, that's so beautiful Sen! Who is this guy you have a crush on anyway?"

Sen blinked slightly, her angry expression softening to an awkward clearing of her throat. "Um, no one, just give it back!"

Violet flames began to dance around her fist. She was going to take it from the other girl before Mai swooped in and snatched the letter from Ty Lee, handing it to Sen without even looking at it. "Come on we have to go, now. Get down and hurry up."

Sen was relieved to have gotten her scroll back before they could figure anything out about its contents. Ty Lee skipped from the room with a sigh. "You're no fun, Mai!" she protested.

"I've been told..." Mai said, nonplussed. She started to follow Ty Lee before stopping to glance back at the captain. "Are you coming or what?"

"Y-Yes," Sen responded, nodding once, "Give me a moment and I'll be with you shortly."

That was close...

They stepped outside where Azula was waiting for them near an enormous tank train. Sen quickly took Wataru's reins and led him inside. The others were working with their own creatures - mongoose lizards.

Wataru gave a low, bellowing sound when he saw them. Sen ran a hand across his side with a soothing noise.

Azula glanced toward her with a small nose of disapproval. "Sen, they're not going to be fighting the entire way, are they?" she asked, "I don't want problems."

"Of course not, Princess." Sen assured her, "Wataru will be on his best behavior."

Once they were inside, Sen looked down at the animal with a pleading noise. "Please, not in front of her..." she whispered.

Wataru let out an irritated grunt in response.

"I know..." Sen whispered, in response; she led the larger creature into the tank, "You don't like them. But please. For my sake. I'll reward you with something later."

O

The white fur that littered the ground had been the source of Azula's interest.

Sen knelt down, studying a bundle of fur in one hand.

"Seems like the Avatar's pet is leading us right to them," Azula said, with a smile as she watched the night sky, "This'll be easier than I thought."

Sen mounted Wataru, then looked toward the horizon.

Well, they were closer than she thought; she could see their quarry standing atop a cliff, ready to fight them. Azula, Ty Lee and Mai mounted their mongoose lizards and they started toward them.

Aang was with three others and one of them bent a wall of stone to block Mai's blades. Sen unraveled a coil of chain at her belt and it seemed to make Aang react with an angry scowl. She chuckled and leaned her head back.

"Remember this, don't you, Avatar?" she called.

Aang pointed at her. "She's the one who burned my leg!"

That seemed to stir something in the girl dressed in blue beside him; she snarled and bent a massive whip of water in Sen's direction.

She promptly ignited the chain with violet fire and swung it, slamming the weapon into the water and extinguishing both attacks in smoke.

Azula fired a bolt of lightning at the wall with two fingers. The mongoose lizards scaled the hole in the wall; Wataru let out a bellow and obliterated it with his horns.

Mai swung her arm, releasing a flurry of stilettos. The earthbender launched herself off of a pillar of rock, landing on the large sky bison. Sen observed from her place as the group retreated on the creature.

It would be constant.

They would wear them down.

Azula was patient about it as they continued their chase through morning. They traveled to the Nan Shan River, finding patches of fur clinging to the rocks. Azula knelt down, dipping her hands into the water to lift the fur.

"Wads of wet fur. How delightful." Mai said, dryly.

Ty Lee made a thoughtful sound. "Hmmm...they're not wads, they're more like bundles, or bunches?" she said. She scratched her head. "It's got an 'uh' sound."

Sen barely listened to the conversation; she was feeding Wataru nearby and ran her hands across his side. The animal was heavily scarred from battle, missing his left upper horn. He was a great beast.

She glanced up at the others, then leaned in and whispered to him. "Do you think she's impressed?" she questioned.

Wataru grunted in response.

"The Avatar's trying to give us the slip," Azula told them, she pointed toward broken treetops, "You three head in that direction and keep your eye out for the bison."

She looked down at a trail of fur with a smile. "I'll follow this trail."

Mai, Ty Lee and Sen mounted their rides; Sen led the charge with a last look to Azula.

O

Appa lazily soared overhead in the forest. Sokka and Katara mounted on him. They were exhausted from their trip. Momo began to chitter and reared up with a defensive hiss.

Sokka looked down, eyes widening. "Ooooh, no! Katara!"

Sen, Mai and Ty Lee were in hot pursuit just below them.

"How did they find us?" Katara cried.

Appa was drifting dangerously close to the tree line, growing more and more tired. Wataru let out a bellow and it seemed to startle the exhausted bison in a surge of speed.

"Not good, not good!" Sokka shouted. "We just need to make it across that river!"

Appa continued his descent, snapping off several treetops in the process. Mai swung her arm, firing a flurry of stilettos. Sokka narrowly avoided the weapons with a quick duck of his head.

Sen tugged at the reins of her steed, stopping him from crashing into the river as the bison collided to the ground on the opposite side of the river. Mai and Ty Lee stopped at her side as well, watching the two Water Tribe siblings celebrate their victory.

"They think they're safe." Sen mused, with a small chuckle.

"Don't worry. Meet us on the other side." Ty Lee assured her.

The mongoose lizards carrying the two paddling the water rapidly, allowing for them to walk over the surface of the river. Sokka let out a terrified sound and Sen was surging through the water after them, Wataru bellowing loudly.

Ty Lee jumped off the beast just in time, emerging from the water. She landed near the treetops where she gracefully dodged from tree trunk to tree trunk in pursuit of Katara, who opened her water skin.

Sen stepped up, clutching the long chain she carried at her side. She ignited it in purple flame, drawing Katara's attention.

"Come on!" she shouted, "I'm ready for you!"

Sen's voice was light with pleasure. "Hah! Haven't fought a water bender in a while. Most of you surrender so quickly."

Katara's eyes narrowed and she gave an enraged shout, lashing a water whip in her direction, however, is forced to quickly dodge several of Ty Lee's blows. She narrowly avoided having her chi blocked and fired several sharp discs of water at her enemy, who cartwheeled repeatedly to escape.

Sen spun the chain, still ablaze. She stalked toward Katara, the heat stealing the air around her. The water bender struggled to breathe. Sen laughed again, watching as she continued to fight back.

"How much worse do you want this to get, water peasant?" she crooned, maliciousness in her voice. "Surrender now."

Sokka suddenly hobbled toward Katara and stumbled to the ground. It distracted Katara just enough for Ty Lee to hop over and strike Katara in several places - her arm and leg, sending the water bender falling to the dirt.

"How are you doing?" Sokka asked her.

Katara laughed weakly. "Well, you know..."

Mai sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "I thought when we finally caught you guys, it would be more exciting. Oh well, victory is boring."

The three were suddenly swept off their feet by a powerful gust of wind conjured by Appa's tail. They were sent flying into the river with loud cries.

Once they surfaced, they watched as the group made their escape on the bison.

Sen wrung out her cloak and Ty Lee laughed. "Wow, was it just me or was that guy kind of cute?"

Sen sighed with irritation and Mai rolled her eyes.

O

Azula didn't seem quite as upset.

Sen sat beside Wataru, leaning against him as she watched the campfire. Azula was debriefing Mai and Ty Lee about the situation, laying out a map at a table with the rest of them sitting around it. They had poured themselves some tea, drank and talked about what they would do next.

But she was smiling, she was confident and Sen didn't know how she could be the same.

Of course, she was a warrior of great strength and intellect. But when it came to Azula, she fumbled. She was always nervous. How could she hope to impress her?

"Sen? Sen, come sit with us."

Hearing Azula's voice, Sen looked up and rose, approaching the table and taking a seat. She hesitantly glanced over at Azula.

"Nice of you to finally join us, captain," Azula said. "Do you intend to spend all your days with us keeping your distance?"

"Of course, Princess," Sen replied, bowing her head with respect, "My apologies."

"Well, it has been a while," Mai replied, with a small shrug. "Maybe she's just used to keeping to herself."

Sen poured herself some tea in a little wooden cup. She raised it once and took a drink.

Ty Lee flashed a goofy grin. "Maybe we could spend time talking about all of that love she put in her letter!"

Sen's eyes bugged wide and she abruptly spat her drink out which Mai quickly dodged to avoid being sprayed.

Azula's ears pricked up with intrigue at the idea and she smiled broadly at Sen, who was glaring angrily at Ty Lee.

"A crush, huh?" she said, "Tell me, who's the guy?"

Sen sat rigidly in her spot and she glowered at Ty Lee like she wanted to kill her. "No one..." she hissed.

"But you said that - OW!" Ty Lee cried out when Sen kicked her under the table.

Ty Lee mumbled, nursing her leg with a bothered noise and huffing at Sen.

"You didn't have to kick me that hard..." she protested.

Azula didn't seem interested in pushing the question. She was more focused on their next mission.

It involved Ba Sing Se.


	4. The Drill

~O~

The debriefing before the mission had taken an age, but Sen was quite eager to carry out the will of the Fire Lord, and even more so, Azula's. She kept her head to the ground, only speaking when spoken to. Fortunately when they arrived in the Earth Kingdom, War Minister Qin had done most of the speaking regarding the drill he planned to use on the Walls of Ba Sing Se.

"This drill is a feat of scientific ingenuity and raw destructive power," War Minister Qin was explaining to Azula, "Once it tunnels through the wall, our troops will storm their city. The Earth Kingdom will finally fall, and you can claim Ba Sing Se in the name of your father. Nothing can stop us."

Sen stepped into the room and stood beside the others. Azula looked up at her with a small smile.

"So good of you to join us, Captain." she said.

"My apologies, Princess..."

"Oh, never mind," Azula didn't seem interested in pursuing that matter, "War Minister Qin was just unveiling fascinating details about his drill and how he's confident in its abilities."

Qin smiled nervously at the tone in her voice. She wasn't as impressed as her words implied.

Ty Lee peered through a periscope at several Earth Kingdom troops using earthbending to create several large trenches. There were Fire Nation forces following them in hot pursuit. She smiled brightly and gestured.

"Hmmm, what about those muscle-y guys down there?" she asked, looking at Qin.

Qin chuckled mockingly. "Please. The drill's metal shell is impervious to any earthbending attack."

He looked at Azula nervously as he said this and the Fire Nation Princess didn't seem so impressed. "Oh, I'm sure it is, War Minister Qin, but just to be on the safe side..." She looked sharply at the others. "Sen, Mai and Ty Lee, take the earthbenders out!"

Mai rose from her seated position with a regal sigh. "Finally, something to do."

Sen cracked her knuckles tightly. "With pleasure, Princess."

She was pleased by the smile of approval on Azula's face and rushed outside with the others, hoping her fighting here would impress her.

There were several earthbenders waiting for them and their leader let out a shout of command.

"Ready...attack!" he commanded.

The earthbenders wedged large earth spikes into the metal shell of the drill in an attempt to stop it from advancing toward the wall. Unfortunately, the drill's segments separated, reducing the columns to crumbles. The earthbending leader looked stunned and the group barely managed to form a shield of earth to protect themselves as an assault of flying daggers hurled by Mai sailed in their direction. They looked up in time to see Mai, Ty Lee and Sen sliding down the shell of the drill.

"Earthbenders..." Sen hissed, landing gracefully on the ground; her hands filled with dark violet-colored flames, "Let's play."

While Sen took care of two earthbenders, Ty Lee effortlessly managed to defeat a few of her own through an acrobatic display, utilizing chi-blocking which disabled their ability to bend. It didn't take long to render them utterly defenseless to the point that they had to retreat to the wall. The three watched the sight with amusement.

"Wow Sen, that was amazing!" Ty Lee said, as they entered the drill.

"Thank you."

They entered the command module once more and it wasn't long before a cloud of debris was sent toward the drill from outside. Ty Lee peered at the cloud through the periscope with a surprised look on her features. "Hey, look at that dust cloud. It's so...poofy."

Qin looked warily to Azula. "Don't worry,Princess. I'm sure it's nothing."

Azula seemed doubtful and far from impressed, even when the drill drew closer and closer to the city walls. Qin made his announcement of the arrival, eagerly hoping this would please the Fire Nation Princess.

"Congratulations, crew. The drill has made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se!" he announced, "Start the countdown to victory!"

Just then, two engineers rushed into the command module, breathless and frantic. "War Minister, an engineer was ambushed! His schematics were stolen!" one of them gasped.

Qin was clearly surprised by this announcement while Azula narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Sen looked at them.

"And how did this come to pass?" she demanded.

The second engineer looked at her warily. "A brace on the starboard side has been cut clean through! It's sabotage, ma'am!"

Azula turned sharply to the three women. "Let's go, ladies!"

Meanwhile, Sokka smiled with relief as Katara and Aang continued to slice through the braces of the drill. "Good work, Team Avatar!" he yelled, over the roar of mechanics around them. "Now Aang just needs to..." He looked up in horror. "duck!"

He ducked just in time to narrowly evade the blue fire blast sent his way by Azula, who rushed out and stood on another brace followed by her friends. Aang had to jump back to avoid another blast from the princess.

Ty Lee grinned. "Wow, Azula, you were right! It is the Avatar!" she said. She smiled rather flirtatiously at Sokka. "...and friends."

Sokka grinned weakly and waved back. "Hey."

Ty Lee performed a graceful swing forward toward Aang who quickly used his airbending in a fierce swing of his hands to knock her backwards. The trio escaped the scene and raced through the drill's hallways. Azula smiled at the other women and they gave chase. Sen was rushing furthest ahead, determined to catch them as they arrived at an intersection.

"We meet again, water tribe filth." Sen hissed. "Come for a rematch, have you?"

Aang looked back at them frantically. "Guys, get out of here. I know what I need to do."

Eventually, Azula and the other two reached the intersection, just as Aang went in one direction and Sokka and Katara in another, with Sen eventually following behind the two. Azula gestured to their direction. "Follow them! The Avatar's mine!" she commanded.

Mai and Ty Lee begin chasing Katara and Sokka while Azula pursued Aang. They stopped when Sen was following the two siblings in an open hatch. Ty Lee read the sign labeled "Slurry Pipeline" and tugged at Mai's hand.

"C'mon! You heard Azula. We have to follow them!" she insisted.

Mai held out two hands. "She can shoot all the lightning she wants at me. I am not going in that wall sludge juice."

Ty Lee didn't argue and jumped into the hatch, splashing into the slurry behind Sen. She smiled with determination and the firebender looked at her briefly with dismay. Just as they were moments away from reaching the release hatch, they were forced to remain due to the continuous bending by the waterbender below. Ty Lee and Sen struggled to be free, but it was futile so long as Katara continued to plug up the hatch.

"You filthy little - " Sen spat down at her, "I'll kill you for that!"

Katara flashed her a smirk. "You and your circus freak will have to come down here and get me!"

"Katara, keep that up!" Sokka told her, "The pressure will build up in the drill. Then when Aang delivers the final blow, it'll be ready to pop!"

"What?" Sen gasped, struggling to breathe between a mouthful of slurry.

O

It was quite a mess.

Qin stared through the slurry in his command module, shocked by what had happened. The entire drill was destroyed by the Avatar and his friends. Everything he'd planned had gone up in smoke and he knew he would be punished for it.

Azula slid down the drill, covered in slurry and she landed by Ty Lee and Sen who attempted to clean the mess from their bodies. A hatch opened above them, revealing Mai, who was completely clean and free of it.

"We lost." she said, dryly.

Sen spat out a glob of slurry and glared up at her. "Yes, the obvious eluded me!" she snapped.

Azula was displeased and turned to Qin, who made his way out of the drill. "Princess!" he cried, "Forgive me! That wasn't supposed to ha - " He yelped when he slipped over the slurry and fell face-first into the ground.

Sen stood over him before pressing a foot against his back. "I'm sorry." she growled, "What was that about the drill being...impervious to attack?"

Qin struggled to breathe beneath the liquid mess and Azula watched the scene with amusement for a moment before looking at Sen. "Alright, that's enough drowning him for one day. Let him up."

Sen obeyed and Azula watched Qin struggle to rise. "Never you mind," she replied, with a wicked smile. "I had a feeling this drill would fail us, so that's why I formulated another plan."

Qin smiled weakly, but shook in the presence of Azula's suddenly darker stare. "But this failure is going to cost you your freedom, War Minister. Rest assured."

The man whimpered, but understood plenty what that meant.

O

"She isn't used to losing battles."

"No, I bet she takes it out on another wall again."

Azula could make out the chatter from Sen's officers as she made her way through the halls of the Fire Nation outpost. She rolled her eyes dismissively and glanced at Mai and Ty Lee. "Where is Sen?" she asked.

"Last I saw her, she was complaining about the battle." Mai said, with regal boredom. "I think she took out a wall, or something."

"Oh, so our dear captain has a temper." Azula smiled, amused.

As if on cue, there was a loud crash from a room and a woman was running out, angry and waving a hand in the air. "You're insane, you know that!" she shouted. "Don't you dare throw - " She yelped and her eyes widened.

"GET OUT!" Sen shouted viciously, from inside. A pot was thrown and the woman ducked to avoid it.

Azula raised an eyebrow and Ty Lee giggled. The woman turned to them and bowed when she noticed Azula standing there. "Ah! Princess!" she exclaimed, "Forgive me! But I cannot stand another second with that insufferable woman!"

"As you wish." Azula shrugged her shoulders calmly. "You can apply your skills in medicine in the colonies."

The woman looked stunned by that before she bowed again and quickly hurried off.

She stepped inside and found Sen standing there, flames licking her hands. She wasn't wearing her mask; she looked absolutely enraged, but immediately calmed and now, seemed embarrassed to have been seen in such a state.

"Ah! Princess!" Sen stammered, saluting and tucking a hair away from her face that had fallen over her eyes. "Forgive my childish behavior! It won't - "

"Sen. You're not used to losing battles, are you?" Azula remarked.

"I've never lost one, princess." Sen kept her head lowered. "Fifty two battles against Water and Earth filth and even the occasional bandit or two. I've always succeeded. None have matched my military skills."

Azula sighed dramatically. "Ah, you're looking at this the wrong way, my dear captain." she explained, "This loss wasn't due to poor planning on your part. It was our War Minister Qin, who - need I remind all of you - has suffered enough for his failures. Your record is far from marred. Besides, I have a plan. Will you take part in it or continue to throw pots at handmaidens?"

Sen blushed, lowering her eyes. "I will take part."

"Good!" Azula was satisfied with that. "Now then, what size dress do you wear?"

Sen blinked, eyes widening.

O

"I'm not wearing that."

Sen eyed the Kyoshi uniform with disgust, arms folded across her chest; Ty Lee held it up to her with a wide, toothy grin anyway. Azula had already begun fitting it on and Mai had begun applying makeup to her face.

"Sen, see?" Ty Lee gushed, playfully, "This is what WOMEN wear."

Sen glared at her from behind her mask. "You're not funny."

"I think I'm pretty funny."

"Well, you're NOT!" Sen spat now. "I'm not wearing a stupid dress."

"Very well, Captain." Azula told her. She didn't chastise Sen for her refusal to partake in that particular task; she was in too good of a mood. "Since you seem to abhor the dress, I have another task for you."

Sen nodded. "Of course, Princess."

"You will take your Sea Ravens and disguise yourselves as guards. You are to remain hidden and silent once we enter the Earth King's palace. Is that understood?"

Sen bowed once. Understood.

"Good." Azula was satisfied with the response.

They departed to carry out the plan; Sen and her Sea Ravens remained disguised as guards. Jia was delighted by the plan as always and whispered sidelong to Sen as she eyed the disguised Kyoshi warriors.

"I can't believe it!" she said. "Ba Sing Se! We're truly going to infiltrate the Earth Kingdom capital!"

"Yes, and it's going to go well. Keep yourself quiet until Azula says otherwise."

"Of course. I'm always quiet."

"No, you're not."

Azula, Mai and Ty Lee approached the Earth King and knelt down before him. Sen barely listened to the king speak as he made a grand speech, but he finished it off with one that focused her attention.

"In our hour of need, it is with the highest honor that I welcome our esteemed allies, the Kyoshi Warriors!"

The three looked up with smiles on their faces.

"We are the Earth King's humble servants." Azula promised.


	5. The Tales of Ba Sing Se - Sen

~O~

Sen wasn't sure how long she'd spent alone this time in the walls of Ba Sing Se in her room by herself, working on that letter.

After the coup, Azula had spent time with her brother, attempting to help him find his way back to his father. They were returning to the Fire Nation Palace soon and Sen was invited to come along. She didn't know why, but she was honored by it.

"Sen!"

When she heard Azula calling her from another room, she immediately hid the letter she'd been working on again in her armor and walked toward the room the Princess had called her from.

And froze.

Azula was sitting in a bath, languidly surrounded by candles with her hair hanging on the outside. She smiled when she saw the suddenly tense firebender there and held out a comb. "Come here and brush my hair for me, would you?"

Sen's eyes widened behind her mask. _Oh spirits..._

Azula studied her strangely. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, "Come here."

Sen swallowed hard, trying to keep her tongue from sticking to the roof of her mouth before nodding and kneeling behind the princess, taking the comb and slowly starting to brush the long hair laid out in front of her.

"Hm." Azula murmured thoughtfully before smiling at the mirror in front of her, noticing that Sen wasn't looking at her. "You should be celebrating, Sen. Today's a day that goes down in Fire Nation history. You should be proud of what you accomplished with us."

"I am, Princess," Sen said quietly, continuing to comb her hair, "But it wouldn't be my success to celebrate, it is yours alone."

"All true," Azula agreed, with a wave of a dismissing hand, "But you've worked rather hard yourself and I'm feeling in a good mood today. So I've considered offering you something."

Sen looked up in surprise. "W-What is it, Princess?" she asked, unable to hide the tremble in her voice.

"I've heard about your father, Admiral Arashi's history with us," Azula explained, "I've also heard details about how he gave you those burns on your face."

Sen's hand stilled somewhat as she felt a flame burn in her belly. "Yes..."

"Well, our fuddy-duddy Admiral's been captured for treasonous acts," Azula continued, as if it was no big deal, "I don't have the details on what he was doing exactly, but I've told them to bring him here to you."

Sen's eyes widened. The idea of seeing her father again after so many years... She didn't know what to say.

"He'll be waiting at the Earth Kingdom Palace in a few hours," Azula told her, "I told father we'd run a little late so that you could...have a little fun with him."

_Fun..._

Sen had no other way of answering except for "thank you, Princess".

O

Azula had been making a speech to the Dai Li, one that Sen listened to intently.

"The Earth King and the Council of Five do not trust the Dai Li. They imprisoned your leader, Long Feng. Soon they will turn on all of you and eliminate you. Seizing power today is a matter of life and death."

As she continued to speak, an agent with a mustache started looking rather nervous and slightly lowered his head. "This coup must be swift and decisive. The Earth King and each of the five generals must be taken out simultaneously. Long Feng has placed you in my command while we overthrow the government."

Sen nodded once. She certainly agreed.

Azula walked over to her left, to another agent with a tiny, vertical scar on his right cheek. When she neared him, she stared sideways at the agent while still addressing all the agents. "If I sense any disloyalty, any hesitation, any weakness at all," She stopped right in front of the scarred agent and spoke severely. "I will snuff it out."

She continued walking, with the eyes of the now nervous scarred agent following her. "That is all."

The Dai Li departed, and Azula walked up to Ty Lee, who was in the middle of pouring tea.

"Nice speech, Azula. It was pretty and poetic, but also scary in a good way."

She handed the cup to Azula.

Mai smiled, amused. "Yeah. I thought you were going to make that one guy pee his pants."

Azula nodded her head once. "There are still a few loose ends. The Avatar, and my brother and uncle. But first..." She smiled at Sen, then turned to two guards and waved one hand.

They departed to retrieve the little reward that Azula had promised.

O

Sen shifted on her heels impatiently.

Azula had taken a comfortable spot where the Earth King had once sat and watched her comrade with amusement. "Sen, there's no need to be so anxious," she said, casually studying her lengthy nails.

"I am merely a little...excited." Sen assured her.

"What's the big deal anyway?" Mai murmured, leaned against the steps of the throne.

Zuko was standing beside her and watched Sen silently. She met his gaze briefly from the comforts of her mask, wondering what he was thinking. Well, she didn't have too long to consider this as two Dai Li agents were dragging a man in Fire Nation uniform into the chamber. He was kicking and thrashing uselessly on the stone cuffs that bound his arms behind his back.

Sen was frozen for a good two minutes, studying the wrinkled, abnormally aged features of her father, struggling to be free.

He didn't resemble the cold, cruel face that she had once known in her childhood - the same that had mocked her openly in front of the public, the same that had caused her such physical and emotional pain that she hated the very sight of herself in the mirror. No...this man they brought before her was a stranger.

Arashi was thrown onto his knees before Sen with a grunt of pain and he looked up at her, obviously not recognizing the woman yet. "What is the meaning of this?" he spat, "I am no traitor!"

Azula shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Maybe you should try telling that to Sen, admiral."

Arashi looked up at Sen and his eyes grew wide. "What?"

Sen advanced toward him. "Yes, father, take a look." she hissed, struggling to maintain a calm voice, "It's me, your daughter. Nothing? Hm. Maybe this might help."

Arashi's face fell with horror when Sen removed her mask, revealing the terrible burns. The Dai Li agents reacted with a mild shift of unpleasantness at the sight of it. Sen glared at them, her yellow eyes cold enough to freeze before she looked down at her father.

Finally. After all this time.

Her heart was racing, but she wasn't afraid of him anymore. She was filled with adrenaline; a fire he'd deprived her of after so many years of brutality. 

Sen bent down before him and raised a finger and her thumb, producing that same eerie violet flame that danced in front of his eyes. Arashi stared at it warily before looking back at the dark features of his unsympathetic daughter.

"I thought you were dead, father," she said, straightening and clenching her fist, "But I suppose evil doesn't die so easily, does it?"

Arashi shuddered furiously.

"Move his head back a bit," Sen ordered the Dai Li.

At her command, their hands grasped Arashi's head and forced it back so that he had nowhere else to look but to his daughter. Sen tightened the clasps on her metal gloves. She was shaking with anticipation now. "Do you remember the day when I crafted these, father?" she said, "Of course you do. You made me work every single day until I got them _right_!"

Immediately, she punched him viciously across the mouth, sending a spray of blood across the marble floor. Ty Lee's eyes widened in shock, but Azula's smirk just broadened when Arashi cried out in pain. He spat a little blood out, but received another punch to the face again. Sen was emotionless toward his agony. Each blow satisfied her. Each wound she inflicted healed her own.

"I did that to teach you respect!" he shrieked, "The mark on your face was - "

"Indeed!" Sen said, her eyes flickering with venom - she punched him again, "Who was it, my father, who taught me respect? Hm? Who was it who taught me every waking hour of my life? Until my very hands an feet bled?" She leaned forward and lifted his blood-soaked chin, making him look into her cold, pitiless gaze. "Tell me. Who was it to filled my head with the idea that I was so very worthless? Who was it who taught me to despise myself?"

A memory passed through Arashi's mind.

_He was standing over his daughter in the rain, commanding her with cruel ferocity as she struggled to maintain her bending flame in the downpour._

_"I told you, we will do this all night if we have to!" he roared._

_Sen whimpered and cowered from her father's words._

Remembering the terrified sight of his child and staring into the stranger's eyes in front of him, he knew he had created the perfect soldier he'd wanted. The perfect warrior without remorse to her enemies. And right now, she saw him as such.

"Are you proud of me now, father?" Sen asked, punching him again, "Are you proud?"

The blood that spurted from the punches to his face struck Sen across her armor and cheeks, but it seemed to particularly disturb the Dai Li as they cringed and glanced at each other, holding the moaning admiral as the beating continued.

"Sen...please stop..." he managed to get out.

Sen's eyes widened and she grabbed his lower jaw in one hand, forcing him to look up at her. "What did you just say?" she asked, her voice filled with shock. "What did you just say to me?"

Arashi looked up at her and mumbled painfully. "I said, please stop."

In place of her father, Sen saw herself, holding her hands up protectively around her face, pleading for the same thing. The vision ended and Sen's eyes grew wide. Finally, she let out a tired sigh and relaxed. After feeling so much rage culminate all at once and then exploding, she suddenly felt so...tired. So, she beckoned the Dai Li agents away.

"Take that thing from my sight..." she ordered.

Arashi could only whimper in pain as the Dai Li dragged him away.

O

Sen stared at her gauntlet-clad hands, still covered in his blood.

Her hands began to shake. She couldn't breathe.

She had faced him after so long...

She let out a strangled sound, staggered off of the nearby dock she'd chosen to hide away on, leaning against the edge. She choked out a few breathless noises, struggling to calm her racing heart. It took everything she had not to vomit all over herself. It was so disgraceful.

"Hey!"

Sen blinked, looked up at a small child standing there, watching her. She was probably not much older than seven, wearing rags and eating an egg custard tart. Her eyes were wide in surprise, studying Sen.

"Are you okay? You look like you're gonna puke."

Sen shuddered, straightened and took a seat, crossing her legs. "I'm fine. What do you want?" she asked.

"Nothing. I just saw you over here being weird." the girl told her.

Sen sighed, rolled her eyes. "Where are your parents?"

"Don't know." the girl looked over her shoulder with a small shrug. "They go out on patrol sometimes."

Sen tilted her head. "They leave you alone?"

The girl didn't seem bothered by that. It was like something she'd just been used to. "Want some of my tart?" she asked, offering it to Sen.

Sen shook her head now. "No, thank you. You should be home. You don't need to worry about strangers."

"Why not?"

"It's dangerous. You can't trust everyone."

The girl sighed, taking a seat and eating her treat. Sen made a face behind her mask; she wanted the kid to go away, but she didn't have much energy to scare her off right now.

"It's getting dark. Let's take you home then, okay?" Sen suggested, her tone even.

The girl smiled, nodding. "Okay."

Sen rose with a small sigh and the girl took her hand. They started walking away and Sen couldn't help but look around at the people watching them. They were staring at her mask, of course.

"What's your name?" she asked, distracting herself.

"Ming." the girl replied. She looked up at Sen's mask and her eyes widened. "That's a pretty mask!"

"Thank you."

"Who made it for you?"

"I made it myself."

"Really?" Ming looked amazed. "Can I try it on?"

"No. I...have a terrible scar. I don't like people seeing it."

"Oh." Ming made a face. "I'm sorry."

"...It's okay."

Sen was led a little further down the docks and the child seemed interested in talking about animals, though Sen didn't understand why. Then again, she never had much of a childhood. Maybe this was what kids did?

Her mind went to her father and how he'd deprived her of that childhood. She would not deny her love of her nation, but she mourned that loss.

"Oh! There's my house!"

Sen glanced up, spotting the small home at the edge of the water. An old woman was sitting on a chair, waiting for her. She stood up with a laugh, reaching out to take Ming into her arms.

"Ming!" she scolded, with amusement. "Where'd you run off to?"

"Not far. I met someone on the way and she brought me back!" Ming gestured to Sen. "She has a bad scar, that's why she's wearing that mask."

Sen bristled where she stood and the old woman smiled warmly up at her. "You're a big girl. I bet you break all the boy's hearts."

"No. Not really." Sen laughed quietly. "I break other things, usually."

She couldn't resist her joke and the old woman was confused by it a little. Still, she laughed and shook her head. "Well, thank you for making sure Ming got home alright. I appreciate it."

"Of course." Sen hesitated. "I have to go."

They didn't realize that the coup had begun. And this was the first time Sen had felt...conflict in it. This wasn't normal for her. She always thought about the war and how she spent time fighting for her nation.

But now after she'd beaten Arashi, she thought she'd find peace at last. Now, she just felt more confused than ever.

What did Azula think?

The Princess had given her what she felt was a gift. She had offered her a chance to get back at her father for his cruelty. She should have been grateful.

But she felt only emptiness.

Turning, Sen decided to make her way back to her. She'd spent enough time on her own.


	6. The Tales of Ba Sing Se - Azula

~O~

Azula huffed, wrinkling her nose with disgust.

Arashi was being taken to the cells, sobbing miserably. Sen had certainly done a number on him. She'd quite enjoyed the show.

"Show some pride." she said, disgusted with his display. "You were once a proud warrior. For the life of me, I can't see why Sen was so afraid of you."

Arashi's brow knotted and he lowered his eyes.

"How did you do it, Arashi?" she questioned, watching him. "What is it about Sen that sparks her unquestioning loyalty?"

Arashi furrowed his brow. He wasn't sure what the Princess was asking him. "I made her that way."

Azula smirked down at him, leaning her head to one side. "Wait, is that conviction? From you?" She leaned in close. "You're pathetic. Once a proud face of the Fire Nation, now a sniveling traitor who tried to steal from my father. Wait until you meet him. He's quite understanding."

Arashi's features wrinkled in anguish. Azula scoffed, turned and walked from the chamber, thinking of Sen. She didn't understand why the other girl was so terrified of Arashi. He was such a weak man who exploited his own people for his gain.

"What a shame." she said.

She made her way into the war room, finding Sen there and discussing terms of surrender. She was pleased to see it happening and couldn't wait to give her father the news; she was even planning on informing him that Sen had a part to play. After all, Sen demonstrated a strength she'd never seen in most women of the Fire Nation. It was impressive and she admired her for it.

"I consider these terms fair," she told them, "Our Princess has - Oh!"

Sen looked distracted, even as she was in the middle of it, Azula could see it in her eyes. Something about meeting Arashi had changed her. She certainly had gratitude to share, that much was true. But Azula knew that the other girl was rattled a little. She was curious about it. It wasn't like her to be so curious, really.

"I've tasked Sen with discussing these terms until I arrived," Azula told the men at the table, "I trust it's been easy for you."

Sen looked at the Earth Kingdom generals sitting at the table. They were also surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers, who certainly made for an imposing view. The tone was pleasant, but she knew that Azula was mocking them. It had taken the Fire Nation so long to conquer Ba Sing Se, but they'd done it in a day.

One of the men scowled, punching his fist down on the table. "It doesn't matter what you say and do! You cannot silence the Earth Kingdom! We will always fight!"

Hesitant frowns from those around him.

Azula sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. "Right, right. You had it going well for years. But I think a surrender is preferable to a shameful defeat, isn't it?" she crooned, "After all, your King's abandoned you to your fate. So why fight for a leader who would sooner tuck tail and run?"

The man scoffed, shaking his head. He gestured sharply to Sen. "Surrender to you and this disgusting faced - "

Sen abruptly stood up from where she sat, startling everyone around her. She walked around the table, approached the man and calmly incinerated him with a single, mighty blast of violet fire.

Azula grinned widely as she watched the sight; those around them recoiled with startled cries, listening to the dying screams of the man for a few moments. Sen watched silently, the fire casting an eerie glow over her mask.

When the screaming finally stopped, Sen calmly straightened where she stood and turned to the others. She spoke severely.

"Let me bring one thing to your attention, gentlemen," she said, "I will gladly discuss anything at all with you regarding this surrender. Nothing will be off the table, I assure you. However, the price you pay for discussing my face in any way the way he just did? I take your life. Do you understand?"

The generals looked frightened now and even a few of the Fire Nation soldiers were uncomfortable. Azula, however, had been impressed by the display of brute force. It made her chuckle and raise her eyebrows at the others.

"Well?"

The men looked at her with a series of unsettled smiles and nodded.

O

Azula approached Sen after Ba Sing Se's generals had all been departed.

The other girl was sitting at the table, hands flat out in front of her. With her mask, it was difficult to see what she was thinking.

"Sen." she said. "Sen?"

She noticed how rigid the other girl was sitting and when she touched her shoulder, Sen jumped somewhat before letting out a sigh.

"Forgive me, Princess." she told her. "I was lost in thought."

"I noticed." Azula quipped. "You can't sit that way forever. Come. Walk with me."

Sen blinked behind her mask, uncertain. She suddenly felt nervous, but rose to carry out the request.

They made their way down a row of Fire Nation soldiers who saluted them as they passed. Sen glanced briefly to them, then folded her arms behind her back as she followed alongside Azula. She wondered where they were going.

"Mai and Ty Lee are getting ready to depart for home." Azula told her. "Zuzu's been busy. He's certainly...excited about seeing father again. And Mai is certainly in a good mood to have him back."

Sen gave a humorless chuckle in response. "Of course, Princess."

"Sen, I have a proposition for you." Azula continued, after a pause when she caught Sen's tone. "I'd like you to return to the palace with me. I think you should be rewarded for your effort."

Sen blinked, surprised. "I...assumed your reward was given already."

Azula smiled thinly. "You mean, you thought a tired old man was a worthy gift? What an insult."

Sen sputtered, stunned by her words. "N-No! I meant no offense! I - "

Azula groaned with regal boredom. "I was JOKING, Sen."

"Oh..."

"Never mind. Let's go."

O

It was strange.

Azula couldn't understand Sen's motives.

She was skilled in reading others; she could understand that Mai would need close watching in the days to come. She knew that the other girl's loyalty was a little shaken at times. Ty Lee would probably need a little more of a push to stay with her. Perhaps.

But Sen? Sen, she didn't understand.

There was nothing to use against her to keep her at her side. She had nothing to be intimidated with and she wanted nothing.

So what kept her so loyal to her?

Azula didn't like the not knowing when it came to someone; she had to maintain her control and will over a person. It was how things were done. Fear was what controlled people. But Sen wasn't afraid of anything.

So what was it?

Zuko was still in doubt, as usual.

Even when she assured him that his successes in the Earth Kingdom would be something their father would approve of. It was her way of bending the truth, just a little, anyway.

But still, Azula liked the idea of keeping him in the dark. After all, their father found him to be a failure. There was no reason that should have to threaten her place as well. It was good to keep Zuko on guard at all times. He was bound to screw up eventually.

"What if father isn't happy when I return?" Zuko questioned, snapping her from her thoughts.

Azula rolled her eyes with a sigh. She didn't know what else Zuko wanted to hear to reassure him; she'd told him everything so far and his whining was getting aggravating to an extent.

Sen stood on the other side of Zuko, catching Azula's gaze. She quickly averted her eyes and Azula smiled thinly.

She didn't know why Sen was behaving like that, but she'd find out eventually.


	7. The Beach

~O~

The return trip to the Fire Nation had made Zuko anxious, so Sen observed Mai as she walked outside of the palace, approaching her boyfriend and offering comfort. When they arrived at the Fire Nation Capital, Li and Lo were addressing a crowd who waited for them.

Li spoke first. "Your Princess Azula, clever and beautiful, disguised herself as the enemy and entered the Earth Kingdom's Capital. In Ba Sing Se, she found her brother Zuko, and together they faced the Avatar!"

Both spoke now. "And the Avatar fell! And the Earth Kingdom fell!"

"Azula's agents quickly overtook the entire city. They went to Ba Sing Se's great walls." Li continued, "And brought them down! The armies of the Fire Nation surged through the walls and swarmed over Ba Sing Se, securing our victory."

Azula walked between them, smiling with pride.

"Now the heroes have returned home!" Li and Lo declared together.

Lo gestured to Azula. "Your princess, Azula ..."

The crowd erupted in cheer and Sen watched from the ship with a small smile of her own.

Li gestured now toward Zuko, who approached with a concerned expression on his face. Even when the crowds cheered for him as well, he was unsure of how to react. But Mai was there to offer him comfort again.

"And after three long years, your prince has returned ...Zuko!"

Cheers from the crowds.

O

Sen was kneeling before Ozai. Her mask was gone. Azula was there at her place near Ozai's throne, observing the sight with a smile.

"You've been away for a long time," Ozai said, "Azula tells me of your grand exploits. How you assisted in the capture of Ba Sing Se."

"Yes, my Lord."

"I believe you've earned a promotion, my dear Captain." Ozai told her.

Sen blinked, amazed. "My-My Lord, I'm honored!"

She looked up at Azula who smiled and inclined her head once. Good. The other girl wasn't so morose now. She really had been a drag.

And after her promotion, Sen spent the next few days in her room. She wanted to rest, laying back in her bed before noticing old speckles of blood that caked the lining of her armor.

She spent time removing it with a wet rag before sitting in front of herself in the mirror, staring at the horrible burns on her face; the way the scars twisted the part of her mouth in a permanent scowl. She reached up and touched them before closing her eyes.

"Why can't I do anything about this?" she mumbled sadly.

I'm never going to be good enough for her. She so beautiful and I'm - Sen thought with bitter disgust.

Instead of thinking about it any more, she fitted her mask back onto her face, stood up and left her room, entering the dining hall. Mai and Ty Lee were already at the dining table when Sen arrived.

Azula was sitting at the far end, in mid discussion about taking a trip to Ember Island. When Lo and Li noticed Sen arriving, they quickly brought forth some tea and some Flaming Fire Flakes.

"Sen!" Azula said, waving one hand, "How would you enjoy a trip to Fire Island?"

Sen blinked and took a spot beside Mai and across from Ty Lee. "Um, that would be fine, princess," she answered, "May I ask what the occasion is?"

Azula popped a Fire Flake into her mouth. "No occasion. I just thought it would be...kind of..." She paused, almost thoughtful and glanced over at Ty Lee expectantly, as if she had the answer to that that Azula did not.

"Oh! Fun!" Ty Lee finished for her.

"That, and considering the fact that your father is holding a restricted meeting with his advisers," Lo answered, refilling Azula's cup.

Azula smiled at Sen and waved her hand in the air. "There you have it. Father is busy and he wants us out of the house. Case in point: We're using Lo and Li's beach house for the time being. Would you care to join us?"

Sen smiled behind her mask.

Well, at least she had a chance to try and tell the Princess while she was in a good mood.

O

"I'm so excited to spend the weekend on Ember Island," Ty Lee announced, as they arrived on the docks of the island, "It's gonna be great to hang out on the beach and do nothing."

Zuko glared at her, sitting down at the side of the docks. "Doing nothing is a waste of time! We're being sent away on a forced vacation." he snapped. He rose to his feet and angrily kicked at a pebble. "I feel like a child."

Azula smiled at him. "Lighten up. So dad wants to meet with his advisers alone without anyone else around," she said, "Don't take it personally."

Ty Lee cocked her head. "Doesn't your family have a house on Ember Island?"

"We used to come every summer when we were kids," Azula replied, following Li and Lo to their beach house.

"That must have been fun." Ty Lee said, smiling brightly.

Zuko stared at her grimly before he closed his eyes, reliving the once happier times of his family and friends together on the beach. Back when things used to make sense. Back when he wasn't so conflicted. "That was a long time ago."

Sen stared at him, but said nothing. She felt a glimmer of his pain for only a brief moment.

They stepped into the beach house and instantly, Zuko groaned with disgust. The house had a rather putrid smell to it that festered into his nostrils.

"Ugh..." Zuko groaned, "It smells like old lady in here."

Mai raised a single brow and casually fanned some of the dusty pottery with one hand. "Gee, I wonder why."

Sen glanced around the house with regal boredom from behind her mask. Zuko gave her a funny look, like he had just now noticed that she was wearing the thing. "You know, you don't always have to wear that."

"Don't worry about me." Sen answered, briskly.

"I'm not," Zuko told her, "I'm just saying because I know. Sooner or later, we have to stop hiding our scars."

Ty Lee walked around until she spotted a picture of two women posing back to back. They were very beautiful too. "Who are these two beautiful women?" she asked, glancing back at the older women.

"Can't you tell?" Li grinned at her.

The two posed just like the women in the picture. "It's Li/Lo and me!" they said, together.

Everyone else looked horrified, and Zuko covered his mouth to keep from vomiting. Sen shuddered where she stood. "I think I may skip lunch for today..." she muttered. She turned and walked out of the beach house.

After unraveling from their trip, the group went down to the beach.

Sen had always been pretty comfortable with her body with the exception of her facial damages. Given her military life, she was pretty muscular in tone and structure. But she was also humble as well, so she was dressed in a pair of black pants and a red vest sporting the Fire Nation insignia. She had her hair braided.

She looked up, just in time to see Azula observing a game of Kuai Ball in effect. She smiled slyly and stood up, approaching the people playing.

"Hey, beach bums, we're playing next," she told them. Then, she called over to Ty Lee, who was in the middle of being fanned by two teenagers while a third boy holds up a blanket to give her shade. "Ty Lee, get over here now!"

Ty Lee did a perfect a handstand and walked on her hands to Azula.

Sen wasn't up for playing in the game, so the others engaged without argument. She went to a stand to retrieve two things of watermelon juice. A loud explosion caused her to look back at the game. Azula had spiked the ball so hard through the net that it had caught on fire. She grinned triumphantly and thrust her hands into the air.

"Yes! We defeated you for all time!" she boasted, "You will never rise from the ashes of your shame and humiliation!" She paused before smiling back at the others. "Well, That was fun. What else shall we do?"

Sen walked up and offered her one of the melons. "Drink?"

"Don't mind if I do!" Azula quickly took the watermelon and slurped from it in a loud and unappealing manner. Her sounds disgusted a few of the boys there at the beach while Sen smiled, not disgusted in the slightest. Zuko gave her a frown, staring down at the watermelon in her hands as she took a small drink.

Zuko squinted at her suspiciously before he scoffed and brushed passed her. "Fine. I'll just get it myself."

Azula stared at Sen and shrugged her shoulders. "Wonder what's eating him."

"Maybe he got a sea slug stuck in his shorts or something." Sen muttered. She watched Zuko as he retrieved some ice cream from the stand. Did he suspect something?

Sen wanted to spend some time with Azula, but several guys approached her and the others and started talking about a party that they were having. What surprised Sen was Azula actually wanted to go. Go to meet them, maybe?

If Azula had any interest in the one called "Chan", Sen knew that she had no chance of trying to reveal her feelings to the princess. But Azula didn't seem none TOO interested when she was talking about it at lunch.

"Why didn't you tell those guys who we were?" Zuko asked, glancing at his sister.

Azula shrugged her shoulders. "I guess, I was…intrigued. I'm so used to people worshiping us."

"They should." Ty Lee piped up.

Azula smiled at her. "Yes, I know and I love it," she argued, good-naturedly for once, "But for once, I just wanted to see how people would treat us if they didn't know who we were."

"Like waves washing away the footprints on the sand, Ember Island gives everyone a clean slate..." Li began, studying her bowl with a calm and quiet demeanor.

"Ember Island reveals the true you." Lo finished.

Suddenly, the two clapped hands and performed a few synchronized arm movements. "To the party!"

O

Chan opened his door and looked confused at the sight of Azula and her friends standing there. "Um, you're a little early. No one's here yet."

Azula smiled. "I heard you telling someone that you'd be partying from dusk 'til dawn. It's dusk, so we're here."

"But that's just an expression." Chan argued.

"We are the perfect party guests," Azula told him, beaming with pride, as if she had it all figured out, "We arrive right on time because we are very punctual."

Chan didn't see a point in arguing, so he just shrugged and opened the door wider, signaling for them to come in. "All right listen, my dad's an admiral and has no idea I'm having this party so don't mess anything up."

Ruon Jian stood with his back against the wall and grinned, waving at Sen. She glared back at him before straightening and watching Azula move in on Chan. Her lips tightened behind her mask and she clenched her fists.

"That's a sharp outfit, Chan. Careful," Azula said, smiling, "You could puncture the hull of an empire-class Fire Nation battleship, leaving thousands to drown at sea." She pointed at Chan's outfit. "...because it's so sharp."

Chan smiled, though looked a little confused. "Um...thanks."

Eventually, the party moved underway and various people began showing up. Sen, Azula and Ty Lee were in a discussion about boys. Well, Sen was doing most of the listening while the other two were talking.

"Come on, Ty Lee. You can't be this ignorant." Azula said.

Ty Lee shrugged. "What are you talking about?"

"Those boys only like you because you make it so easy for them," Azula explained, "You're not a challenge. You're a tease. It's not like they actually care who you are."

Sen couldn't help but snicker somewhat, but Ty Lee started crying. Azula immediately changed to a softer gentler tone. "Okay, okay, calm down. I didn't mean what I said," she assured her, "Look, maybe I just said it because I was a little..." She leaned forward and whispered carefully. "jealous."

Ty Lee looked stunned. "What? You're jealous of me? But you're the most beautiful, smartest, perfect girl in the world."

Sen smiled behind her mask and nodded, speaking a little too eagerly. "She's right."

Azula smiled at them. "Well, you're right about all those things. But, for some reason, when I meet boys, they act as if I'm going to do something horrible to them."

Ty Lee chuckled. "But you probably would do something horrible to them. I'm sure they're just intimidated by you," she replied. Then, she leaned forward and pressed a hand to the banister beside her. "Okay, look, if you want a boy to like you, just look at him and smile a lot and laugh at everything he says even if it's not funny."

Sen groaned and the princess rolled her eyes. "Well, that sounds really shallow and stupid..." She smiled now. "Let's try it."

Ty Lee clapped her hands together. "Okay! How about Sen be the guy since she looks kinda like one." She cringed when Sen glared daggers at her. "And you tell Azula something."

Sen rolled her eyes. "That's stupid. I'm not pretending to be a guy. I can't afford therapy on my salary."

Azula gave her a false pouty look. "Come on, Sen. Just do it."

Sen cleared her throat, unable to resist the charm the princess put on. "Um...very well." She stammered a bit before making her voice deep, like a boy's. "'Hey there, sweet sugar cakes. How you liking this party'?"

Azula laughed quite loudly and everyone around them stopped to look at her like she was crazy.

O

Sen didn't know how long she wandered through the house.

Or how she'd ended up in the room talking with the other teenage girls. They were sitting on several pillows, talking about wanting boyfriends.

Except for Sen, of course. She did not prefer the company of boys. The girls were quite supportive of her.

"...I guess what I'm asking is...well, how do you know when it's real?" Sen asked.

One of the girls smiled brightly at her. "It's real when you feel like two halves of the same whole!"

Sen frowned thoughtfully.

"Yeah! I mean, when you're stronger together!" another one assured her. "Like my boyfriend and me. He did something really grand when he told me how he felt."

Sen tilted her head curiously. "Like what?"

"He waited until his friends were around and asked me out. Just like that."

Sen made a face, uncomfortable. She shook her head. "I don't know. I'm not really good at this."

"Why not?" Another girl behind her was drinking from her cup. "I mean, you have muscles! Every girl likes that!"

"No." one of them argued. "It's not about strength. It's about how much you feel when you're around her. Like, when she's near you, what do you feel?"

Sen blushed slightly, lowering her eyes. The girls giggled at her and patted her shoulders for comfort.

"It's...It's like when you're just looking at the sun for the first time," she tried, "It burns bright, but it warms your face. Like an embrace."

"Awww!" the girls collectively gushed.

"But...what if she likes this boy here," Sen wondered.

"Which boy?"

"Chan."

One of the girls groaned and rolled her eyes. "Chan's an idiot. She'll see that. Don't worry! You're a catch."

The door opened and Azula pushed her way inside, frowning impatiently when she saw Sen surrounded by the girls.

"Here you are!" she snapped. "I've been looking everywhere for you and you're here sitting around like - "

Sen immediately stood up, flustered. "I'm so sorry. I was just wandering and they found me."

One of the girls brightened up at Azula. "Whoa, is this her?" she asked. "She's really pretty!"

Azula blinked, surprised by the compliment for a moment. She smiled smugly and Sen caught the shaken look that came and went like lightning.

When Sen departed with her, she sensed the tenseness between them. Azula was upset about something, so she took a chance.

"Are you alright, Princess?" she whispered, quietly.

"Yes, I'm fine." Azula snapped. "Chan just doesn't know a good thing when he sees it!"

Sen smiled thinly. "Well, there are those who do."

"Really? Who, then?" Azula frowned up at her.

Sen wavered slightly now. She looked around at the others and stammered in her words before bowing. She felt like throwing up.

"Um, excuse me, I must go." she said.

She quickly hurried away, failing to see that Zuko had been watching the whole thing.

O

"Problems?"

Sen spun around, coming face-to-face with Zuko. He stood there, arms folded with a scowl on his face and she simply turned away, in no mood to start a fight with him. "None that concern you, Zuko..." she growled, turning to go.

"I think they do," Zuko responded, "Especially since you seem to have a thing for my sister."

Sen froze where she stood and her eyes widened. Suddenly, she felt very sick, unsure of what to say. He knew, no doubt figured it out or someone else had. It was going to end up badly if Azula found out without her having time to plan what to say.

"Are you crazy?" Zuko snapped, taking her silence as a confession, "Do you have any idea what my sister would do if she found out about this? Oh and let's not forget my father! He could have you executed!"

Sen shut her eyes for a brief moment and sighed. "I know that..."

"So are you going to actually go through with this?" Zuko demanded, his voice lowering just the slightest.

"I don't know..."

"Why don't you know?"

"I don't."

"You have to know! Why can't you tell my sister?"

Sen snarled so suddenly, ripped the mask off of her face and whirled, glaring at him with fiery intensity. She brought her tattered, burned face so close to his impassive, unflinching one. " _LOOK AT ME!_ " she shouted.

Zuko stared at her for a moment before speaking. This time, he was quiet. "Look, all I'm saying is think before you do something really stupid."

"You'd know a lot about stupid, wouldn't you?" Sen sneered.

Zuko's eyes narrowed. He didn't like having his traits singled out like that. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"If I have to say it, then you're the stupid one here."

Zuko's hands began to burn with flames. "I've had about enough of your attitude!"

Chan walked out to the balcony. "Hey, are you guys doing any fire bending out here - " He cut himself off at the sight of Sen's facial burns and his eyes widened comically. "Whoa! Look at your face! Holy..."

He ducked with a terrified yelp as Sen bent a massive wave of flame right at him, scoring the hairs on the crown of his head. Poking his head up meekly, he gestured to the beach with indignant fury. "TAKE YOUR BARBECUE TO THE BEACH!"

Neither one had any trouble with that at all.

O

Zuko started the fight by unleashing a ballistic collection of jabs that produced miniature fireballs and missiles of flame from his fists. Sen was quick and nimble, moving from left to right on her feet with the uncanny grace that could compare to an Airbender, dodging each attack. Zuko snarled in frustration at her antics and began to charge up the attack into swift repetitive strikes to try and knock Sen off of her balance.

But Sen was just too quick and nimble. She chuckled softly and arched a brow. "Is that all?" she sneered, "Just petty smoke tricks?"

Zuko glowered furiously at her. "I'll show you smoke!"

He lunged for her, producing blowtorch - like jets from his fists. He rushed for her, swinging the 'weapons' from side to side. Sen eluded one, grabbed his other wrist in one of her meaty fists and slammed her other fist into his abdomen in a gruesome punch.

Zuko's eyes widened in pain and his mouth flew open in a sharp gasp. Spittle flew from his lips and he tumbled to the sand in a flurry of limbs, just as the others were running up to them.

"Sen! Zuko!" Azula snapped, beginning to curse them, but she actually sighed and shook her head, partially saddened by the fact that she was missing out on a skirmish, "You were having a personal party and didn't invite me?"

Mai frowned as Zuko rose to his feet, holding his stomach and coughing somewhat. "What were you two fighting about anyway?"

Zuko met Sen's eyes and even though she still looked angry, her eyes glimmered over, silently begging him with everything that she was not to tell them. He surprised her by shrugging it off and looking at the others.

"Nothing important..." he said, still looking back at Sen.

O

"So what happened to your face anyway?"

The entire gang made a campfire at the shore side and Sen was lying on a hard - looking rock surface with her eyes closed. When Ty Lee asked the question, she glared upward with a vein sticking out from her forehead at the sight of the girl dangling over her head.

"Ty Lee, is there any time of the day when you're not hanging from something?"

"Probably not!" Ty Lee announced, grinning.

Sen sighed and rolled over, facing away from them. "I don't want to talk about it right now..."

"Ooh! Maybe we can talk about how you can bend colorful fire like Azula!" Ty Lee gushed, like it was the most fantastic thing in the world.

Azula laughed loudly. "Please, like anyone could compare to royalty!" She huffed and the campfire seemed to grow slightly bigger than before, changing her tone a bit. After all, it was a time for relaxation and not silly little games of 'who's horse was bigger'. "But, I have to admit, Sen must be quite the Fire Bender if she could best little Zuzu."

"Not funny..." Zuko snapped, glaring at her.

Azula looked over at Sen and chuckled. "Come on, Sen," she told her, "Relax. No one's out to get you. Come and join us!"

The offer was too tempting to ignore, so Sen moved up to the campfire faster than any airbender would. "Of course..."

Zuko rolled his eyes with a murmur of disgust. His expression made Ty Lee giggle and cover it with one hand.

"So Sen, what secrets are you hiding from us?" Azula asked, smiling deviously.

Sen closed her eyes and collected her thoughts before looking at the object of her affection. No, object wouldn't even be right to place her in category. Talking to Azula was always her greatest dream, but it took some time before she could muster the courage.

"It wasn't what I did," she said, "It's what I wouldn't do..."

Ty Lee immediately positioned herself beside Sen. "What happened?" she asked.

"My father happened," Sen told them, "I was 10 years old. Every day, my father trained me until my bones cracked and my feet bled. He didn't want a weakling in the family and I never questioned it. Being the only born daughter to a father in the military meant high expectations.

I wanted to prove that I could go the distance and become as strong as any man, no matter what the case was and how cruel his methods were. And for a long time, I was doing well even for his high standards. I learned to hone in on my Fire Bending skills, becoming a prodigy at the age of 5. Every morning, I would train until dinner."

"Wow, that's a harsh way to live." Zuko commented.

"Father always ridiculed me and openly mocked me in public, claiming that it would make me into a better person, a stronger one. Sometimes, he would even trip me if I had something heavy in my arms to carry, just to see what I would do."

"Sounds like a nice guy..." Mai remarked, in her bored voice.

Sen chuckled bitterly. "It gets better..." she continued. "One day, I was inside my room, working on my writing. Father had returned from an invasion and came to my room, covered in burns and mud all over his uniform. He actually looked happy standing there. He started telling me to get dressed and that he had a gift for me waiting outside on the docks. Father rarely gave me gifts, so you could imagine that this was big news for me. He brought mother outside and we walked to the docks where his ship was. Father had retrieved several Water Tribe prisoners and had them tied to posts on the beach side. They were tired, bruised and beaten like dogs.

I didn't understand what was going on. My father explained to me that I would eventually go to sea with him and he wanted to make sure that I was ready for war. Mother stayed quiet about it, as she usually did. Father circled the tribe members like a hungry Vulture Griffin, trying to decide who would end up cooked alive. He stopped at a woman and grabbed her by the air, shaking her a little to try and terrify her. He turned to me and told me that I had to learn the ways of war and what it meant to take no prisoners. So, he ordered that I kill one of the Water Tribe members. I didn't want to take her life. I looked at my father and asked her why she had to die. She had done no wrong to me."

"Did you do it?" Mai asked.

They were watching her, intrigued by her tale. Sen stared at them gravely. "What do you think?"

But there was more to it.

"My father was outraged by my talking back to him. He struck me across the face and ordered that I kill her or I would be disowned from his family and labeled a weakling. I was upset about what he wanted me to do. After all, I was still very naive, I admit. Father gave me one final warning, telling me that I was embarrassing him in front of his soldiers and even the enemy. Status was always a big thing for him. And then, it happened. He seared my face with a close - ranged Fire Bending move. I tried to cover my face with my hands," -she held up her scarred hands as proof to them- "but my right side took most of the damage."

Azula blinked before she spoke. "Wow."

Sen actually chuckled at her choice of words. "In ways you could only imagine."

They all started to laugh slightly at the moment shared. Ty Lee sighed happily and leaned back in her spot. "What Lo and Li said came true. The beach did help us learn about ourselves," she said, bending over to pick up a smoothed rock. "I feel all smoothed. I'll always remember this."

Azula stood up and smirked deviously. "You know what would make this trip really memorable?"

The group walked back to Chan's house and when he opened the door, he looked confused by their sly grins.

"We've got some bad news Chan." Azula told him.

Zuko scowled. " Party's over."

They began to make a complete mess of Chan's house. Sen kicked a vase over, Zuko smashed a table in half. Mai sliced through paintings on the walls and Ty Lee swung from a support beam, flipping onto a chandelier. It came crashing down, just as she swung to another beam. And then another followed behind it.

Sen just grinned with delight behind her mask, watching the smirk on Azula's face.

This had been the most fun she'd had in...

...well, ever.


	8. The Boiling Rock

~O~

_Several months later_

It wasn't a surprise when he turned from them.

Sen knew that Zuko would betray his country eventually, but not Mai. Even when Azula stood before her at the Boiling Rock prison, Sen could see something had changed in her. It was worrying, somehow.

They entered the prison together and the warden was there, interrogating someone in the cell.

"Who told you to interrupt me?" the warden snapped.

He turned angrily toward the door, but looks shocked and bowed upon seeing who it is. Azula stood at the door with Ty Lee and Sen behind her. All of the guards bowed to her as well.

"I did." she said.

The warden rose, still lowering his head. "Princess Azula. Ah..." he said, with a hesitant smile, "It is an honor to welcome you to the Fire Nation's most exemplary prison. I didn't realize you were coming."

He stared at Sen, blinking in astonishment when he realized they nearly stood at the same height.

"Who is this?" Azula asked, gesturing to the prisoner.

"He's a guard who was involved in a recent and feeble escape attempt." the warden explained.

The prisoner looked up at them desperately. "It wasn't me!"

"Quiet, you!" the warden ordered, pointing at him.

Azula sighed, crossing her arms. "You're wasting your time. That's not one of them."

She turned and started to go.

Her comment stunned the warden and he looked back at her. "How do you know?"

Azula paused at the door with a sinister smile. "Because I'm a people person."

They walked down the cell block and Azula had begun talking with Ty Lee, but Sen's mind began to wander. She thought about her time in a prison when she'd been captured and interrogated for days before her Sea Ravens freed her. And no one had been spared in the assault.

"...Sen, are you listening?"

Sen looked down at Azula and hadn't realized she'd stopped in front of a cell littered with chains. Azula followed her gaze and they peered into it together.

"Remind you of something?" Azula asked.

"Yes." Sen replied. "I'd been a prisoner once. Not here, mind you, but a prison of the earth benders."

"How'd that go?" Azula asked, with a small laugh.

"I've never been captured before. They thought they'd fooled me, but I willingly gave myself up so that my Sea Ravens could escape," Sen explained. She gave a short, caustic laugh. "They like to judge us for our ways, but they're no different. Especially when it comes to interrogating."

Ty Lee looked at her worriedly. "What happened?"

"They had nothing to threaten me with," Sen's voice was softer now, but carried a coldness, "Nothing at all. My Sea Ravens came for me and unleashed an assault on the prison. You can imagine what we did to them."

Ty Lee looked stunned and Azula thoughtful. Sen didn't know what she was thinking and she'd often been very good at reading others. But the Princess...she couldn't tell.

An alarm sounded, turning their attention now to the chaos of guards running passed them.

"Hm, sounds like trouble," Ty Lee said, "Oh! Let's see!"

"Yes, and I have a feeling I know exactly what kind of trouble." Azula hissed.

O

Azula, Sen and Ty Lee were standing at the bottom of the gondola station. They could see Zuko and a few others attempting their escape.

"Well, that won't do," Sen replied, "What would you have us do next, Princess?"

"Stay here." Azula ordered.

She suddenly snatched a pair of handcuffs from a guard's belt, running forward. Behind her, Ty Lee jumped up and onto the cable, running along it toward the gondola.

After elevating herself to the line with a fire blast, Azula used the cuffs to attach herself to the cable and propel herself forward. Sen observed the sight from her place below, warily glancing down at the boiling water below.

They were fighting and Sen was growing anxious, pacing back and forth like a restless beast. She didn't like being here, unable to do anything. But Azula wanted her to stay there. She had to do what she said.

Suddenly, the warden appeared at the window of the gondola, shouting out. "CUT THE LINE!"

Sen's eyes widened and she whirled, watching as the guards stopped the gondola by jamming the mechanism with metal bars; the wheel screeched angrily as it ground down to a halt.

"No!" she shouted, grabbing one of them and tossing her aside. "The Princess is up there, are you insane?"

The gondola rocked back and forth from the sudden stop, disrupting the combatants from their respective duels. Sen struggled to throw the guards away, determined to keep them from cutting the line. She would not see Azula die.

She WOULDN'T let it happen.

One of the guards jumped on her back and Sen let out an angry snarl, tossing the man from her. She looked up and noticed Azula jumping to safety to another approaching gondola on another wire, heading inbound.

The line was almost entirely severed by now, but before the guards could finish the job, they were suddenly yanked away from it and pinned to the wall by stilettos.

Sen whirled, stunned to see Mai standing near the line.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

Mai scoffed. "Saving the jerk who dumped me."

Other guards tried to attack Mai, but she dodged all their fire blasts and retaliated with her knives, pinning them all down by their wristguards. Sen watched, glancing only briefly to Azula and Ty Lee, who approached the scene.

The prisoners had escaped, but she knew the worst was to come.

O

Mai was detained by two guards, while Azula glared at her, seemingly trying to comprehend the betrayal. Ty Lee was standing in the middle, looking terrified and concerned at the two. Sen had stepped back, unsure of what to say or do. Azula's features were a mask of conflict.

"Leave us alone," Azula ordered the guards.

The guards gave the Fire Nation salute and departed upon her order. Mai raised her head a little, looking defiant. Sen was tense by the sight. She anticipated a fight would break out. She was already restless from earlier.

"I never expected this from you." Azula said, lowly. "The thing I don't understand is 'Why?'. Why would you do it? You know the consequences."

Mai stared back with firm resolve. "I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you."

The intrigued expression on Azula's face contorted into one of absolute rage. She lost control. "No, you miscalculated! You should have feared me more!" she shouted.

Azula angled her fingers to create lightning, and Mai readied one of her stilettos, her eyes narrowed. Before Azula could even think to complete her attack, however, she is struck twice by Ty Lee, who chi blocked her. Sen looked stunned and scowled now, whirling on Ty Lee.

"You little - " she spat.

Ty Lee performed the same tactic with her; blow after blow to Sen's arm that had her falling limply to her knees with a grunt of effort.

Ty Lee looked surprised at her own actions and Sen leaned forward to shield Azula with her own body.

The sight startled Mai, who seemed to put two-and-two together when she met Sen's fierce, angry eyes through her mask. But Ty Lee grabbed her arm to pull her away.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" she cried.

But Mai and Ty Lee were quickly surrounded by guards and captured before they could escape. Azula continued to lay there, angry. Sen refused to raise her body from its protective position until Azula was helped up by the two guards.

"You're both fools!" Azula hissed out.

Mai and Ty Lee were both restrained, looking defiantly at the princess as she was helped to her feet. Sen could stand, though with much effort. The blows she had suffered were minor compared to Azula's.

"What shall we do with them, princess?" one of the guards questioned.

Azula glared at them, her words shaking, but severe. "Put them somewhere I'll never have to see their faces again, and let them rot!"

That would certainly not be a problem; the two were led away, but not before Mai watched Sen the entire way.

"Princess, would you - "

"I'm fine. Don't touch me!"

Azula's words were barely heard as she argued with the guards when they offered her aid.

Sen didn't hear from her for the rest of the day.

O

Mai and Ty Lee sat alone in the cold cell.

They hadn't spoken since it had happened; Mai sat in the far corner of the cell, holding her knees close to her chest. Ty Lee was spending time combing her hand through her hair, which had become frazzled from the moisture in the air.

"Why would Sen do it?" Ty Lee asked, quietly, breaking the silence.

"Do what?" Mai asked, her tone flat.

"Throw herself in front of me like that?" Ty Lee sighed. "Why wouldn't she fight Azula, too? Did she just - "

"Because she's in love with her, Ty Lee..."

Ty Lee blinked, staring at Mai in astonishment. "Really?"

"Yeah, really," Mai stared at the floor, grimly, "Really, I'm surprised none of us ever saw it. But I saw her eyes when she fell. I saw how she was willing to just throw herself in the way to keep Azula from being hurt. She's been doing that this whole time. It's probably been going on even longer than that."

"Oh..." Ty Lee sat there, pondering this. "Wow. It's really sweet, but kind of sad, too."

Mai glanced up at her.

"Azula won't love her back, will she?"

"No."


	9. The Way It Is

~O~

"Sen!"

Sen was out in the courtyard, practicing her bending when she heard the call from the princess. She looked up as Azula appeared beside the peach tree; she looked pleased for some reason.

In her hand was a small bowl of what looked like Komodo Rhino jerky. She offered some to Sen and the girl took one, gingerly eating it. It had been an entire day since Azula had called for her and Sen didn't want to test her after the incident with Mai and Ty Lee. Well, most didn't want to do that, but Sen felt that she needed her space.

"You've recovered, I see." Azula said, eyeing Sen up and down.

"I have." Sen replied, with a weak chuckle. "Forgive me, but...how are you doing?"

Azula frowned at the question, studying Sen almost suspiciously. Perhaps she didn't know what to make of it, or she didn't trust it. Either way, she quickly changed the subject and waved a dismissing hand in the air.

"I'm bored," Azula muttered, a distracted look touching her face for a fraction of a second, "Father's busy at a meeting and didn't see fit to allow me to join in. Did you want to do something?"

Sen blinked, somewhat flushed at the idea of spending time with the woman of her dreams. Alone. "Like what,Princess?" she asked.

"I don't know, something fun." Azula said, taking a swift bite of her jerky, "You do know how to have fun, don't you?"

Truthfully, Sen wouldn't have had a good idea of what to do for her own personal enjoyment. She was never allowed to have much fun growing up and her personal feelings never mattered. She had no time to act like a child the way she should have. Azula paused in her chewing and she read the confusion on the older girl's face. She raised a single thin brow, somewhat amused and somewhat nonplussed at the same time.

"Sen, you can't be serious..." she said.

Sen managed a small smile and shrugged her shoulders, embarrassed.

"Oh, well that is quite a shame," Azula replied, "Because I was hoping that you could accompany me on a few trips before I join father on his leave." Her voice carried a sort of deviousness to it that suggested she was up to some serious mischief.

Sen raised her brows and shook her head. "I-I can come with you!" She paused and then added somewhat shamefully. "That is if you would want me to."

"Good!" Azula seemed rightfully thrilled. "I wanted to have some time to enjoy myself as a child before I took my rightful place at father's side." Her voice dripped with delight and mischief. "A last night of recklessness and chaos, what do you say?"

Sen blinked slightly. She looked surprised by the princess' behavior. "Um, what did you have in mind?"

Azula grinned broadly. "I'm glad that you asked!" She took Sen's wrist and rushed off with her.

"Tell me, Sen: Have you ever been to a Fire Days Festival?"

"No."

"Then this will be quite a treat for you."

O

The two fire benders took a small trip to the Fire Nation towns to engage in the festivities of the Fire Days Festival. Sen had never been too comfortable around many people at once. But Azula, being the more "people person" handled it like a pro.

They spent the evening in the festival, but later visited a local tavern for some food and drink. Sen had ordered a hot tea and some dumplings. Azula ordered tea and a roast duck.

She felt uncomfortable without her mask on, but being with Azula made it easy to forget.

"This has been a lovely evening, Princess." Sen told her.

Azula chuckled. "Sen, you can call me by my name. There's no need to be so formal all the time. It's dull."

_Ahh..._

"R-Right." Sen smiled nervously and sipped her tea.

Azula glanced down at the gauntlet gloves that Sen was wearing and she tapped the spikes with one finger; a sharp, insistent jab. "How are you able to Fire Bend with those silly things on?" she asked.

"Oh!" Sen removed the gloves and revealed that the palms were open. "Open palms," she explained, "I wear these for hand-to-hand combat when I need them." When Azula held out her hand to take them, Sen offered the gloves without argue.

"What material is this?" Azula asked, smiling, "It's harder than anything on the tanks!"

"It's purified Sky Metal," Sen explained, "Most of the mines that supplied this stuff were completely wiped out. These were made with some of the last of it from my father's mines. His ship was built entirely out of the metal."

"Hm. Wow." Azula looked genuinely impressed with her skills.

"It was in the planning stages for use in the military earlier on about ten years ago," Sen told her, taking another sip of her tea, "But when your father discovered that it could not be mass produced for his machines or any armors of other metals without crumbling apart, he decided to close down the mines after every single bit was taken out and placed into storage. He didn't want it to be used by the other nations."

"What a shame," Azula murmured, with disappointment, "It would have made for fine armor." She handed Sen the gloves back and took a sip of her tea. "So where did your ladies disappear to?"

Sen smiled. "I ordered them to take a personal day today. They should be enjoying the festivities as well." Her smile disappeared as two men were watching her from the bar. They quickly looked away and Azula caught the irritation on her face.

"What?" the princess asked.

"That guy was just staring at me right now," Sen said, lowly. "I don't like the way that he was staring at me."

Azula glanced back at the man that Sen was talking about before she laughed and shook her head. "Don't concern yourself with peasant trash, my cauterized friend," she told her. "They talk a big game but when you stand up to them, they cower like rats. They're not worth your time."

But Sen couldn't get over it, no matter what was said. She hated being stared at purely because of her face. Most people were smart enough not to stare at her given her status and being with Azula gave her some kind of strength not to wear her mask the way that she usually would. But right now, she was getting angry.

She stood up and sauntered over to the two men as they were talking. She backhanded the bald one with a dull slap and he grunted, startled before looking up at her with disbelief.

"What's wrong, tough guy?" she sneered, "You think you're better than me, 'cause you got yourself a pretty face?"

"What?" the man snarled.

He rose up and threw out his fist, but Sen caught it with her arm in a wicked hold, twisted and snapped his limb back. His friend stood up and swung out his fists to attack, but she brought her leg up and kicked him square in the neck.

An all-out brawl took place between Sen and the two men. Azula sat at her chair, laughing hysterically and slapping her legs with amusement, not even upset with Sen's behavior.

The bald man groaned when Sen grabbed him by his shirt and tossed him onto the bar counter top, sliding him across it with a snarl of effort before tossing him through a glass window. The rest of the people there ducked out of the way to avoid being lacerated by glass.

Sen turned to the other man and tensed. "You want to be next?" she threatened.

He held up two hands and quickly sided off before she would throw him. Sen turned to a still - amused Azula and hung her head with shame. It wasn't good to make a first impression based on such a short temper.

But she actually surprised Sen by informing her otherwise as they walked back to their ship.

"You're not angry?" Sen asked.

"Not at all, actually," Azula told her, still chuckling, "It was fun to watch you take out two big grown men with your own two hands. I was impressed." She paused for a moment before tilting her head in thought. "Mai's gone, Ty Lee's gone. Why are you still here?"

When Sen didn't answer, she scoffed and spoke with a threat in her voice. "If you are plotting a betrayal scheme, you'd better do it right now and spare yourself the time!"

Sen shook her head and raised two hands in the air. "No, not at all, Azula!" she promised, "It would be stupid and foolish to betray you. Believe me, I'm neither of those things."

_I am foolish for not telling you how I feel, though..._

Azula frowned at her, trying to figure out if she was being true to her word or not. "Hm. I see."

Sen shifted where she stood. If this were as good a time as any, she would never have a better opportunity than this. She sucked in a sharp breath, held her head high and opened her mouth. "Azula, I...have to go."

Azula nodded, missing the pained expression on Sen's face. "Alright, get some sleep. Tomorrow we venture with father to Ba Sing Se. I expect you to be ready before that time."

Sen gave her a click of her heels and a respective bow before walking into the ship and to her room. When she arrived, she angrily paced back and forth, cursing to herself for not saying it right there. She kicked her comforter.

"How could I have not said anything?" she growled, "Ugh, I'm such an idiot! What's wrong with you?"

Sen sighed and closed her eyes, covering her face with one hand. She leaned with one hand against the desk, unsure of what she could do.

The following morning, Azula met up with Fire Lord Ozai before his airship and knelt down.

"Sorry I'm late, Father. Good palanquin bearers are so hard to come by these days." She glanced over her shoulder coldly to her servants who had carried her there to the ships. "So, is everything ready for our departure?"

Ozai had his back to her. "There has been a change of plans, Azula."

"What?" Azula looked up at him, confused.

"I've decided to lead the fleet of airships to Ba Sing Se alone. You will remain here in the Fire Nation."

Azula stared at him, with protest. "But I thought we were going to do this together."

"My decision is final." Ozai's tone of voice definitely clarified that.

But Azula wasn't taking that for a final answer. She had spent too long planning this with her father. It wasn't fair to just cast her out like Zuko, especially all the hard work that she had done for him. "You...you can't treat me like this! You can't treat me like Zuko!"

"Azula, silence yourself!"

The young firebender completely forgot her manners and dignity in one desperate moment to chance at joining her father. "But it was my idea to burn everything to the ground! I deserve to be by your side!"

"Azula!" Ozai thundered sternly. She flinched and he added then, in a more even tone of voice. "Listen to me...I need you here to watch over the homeland, it's a very important job that I can only entrust to you."

A smile lit her face. "Really?"

"And for your loyalty, I've decided to declare you the new Fire Lord." Ozai told her.

Azula pondered that for a moment and she seemed to be utterly satisfied. After all, she knew that he would have to name her Fire Lord given Zuko's betrayal. "'Fire Lord Azula'...it does seem appropriate," she mused. Then, she looked up at him curiously. "But, what about you?"

"Fire Lord Ozai is no more," Ozai told her, smiling as several servants began to fit him with a golden helmet and shoulder piece, "Just as the world will be reborn in fire, I shall be reborn as the supreme ruler of the world. From this moment on, I will be known as...the 'Phoenix King'!"

Phoenix King, huh? Well if that made him happy, then Azula was happy being the Fire Lord of her nation. When she returned to the palace, she sought Sen out immediately to tell her the news and her chance of a promotion.

"Sen!" she shouted, "Sen, where are you?"

Sen was in the kitchen, making some dumpling soup, even against the protests of the kitchen staff.

"We can do it for you!" one of them protested.

"Yes, we are servants after all!" the other added.

"It's fine, ladies," Sen told them, chuckling, "I am perfectly capable of fetching soup for myself. I - Oh! It smells good." She looked up toward the doorways when Azula practically rushed in and almost tripped. "Oh, Azula!" Sen greeted, "How are you?"

"Father did it! He named me Fire Lord!" Azula looked breathless with shock, excitement and delight.

Both servants smiled. "That's fantastic Azula!"

Sen just smiled brightly and placed her bowl down and one of the servants immediately swiped it up in her fingers to pour her some soup. "That's very wonderful, Azula," she told her, "I am happy for you. Truly, I am."

Azula rubbed her forehead, trying to let herself calm down. "Oh, there's so much to do! So much to prepare before my coronation!" She took off as fast as an airbender before calling back to the two older women. "Lo, Li, hurry up! I'm going to need the house maids!"

"Coming, Princess!" the two announced, rushing down the halls.

O

It was almost chaos as the princess made sure that her coronation was to be perfect. She was being groomed by a multitude of servants while eating from a bowl of cherries. She suddenly froze and spat out a cherry pit in disgust before holding it up to the servant.

"What am I holding?" she demanded.

"A-A cherry pit, Princess." the servant stammered.

Azula scowled at her. "Correct. And what day is this?"

"It is the day of your coronation."

Azula's eyes narrowed as she studied the pit in her fingers. "Yes, it is. So, please. Tell me why, on the most important day of my life, you've decided to leave a pit in my cherry?" she demanded, throwing the pit at the servant's face.

The servant winced before speaking carefully. "It wasn't a decision; it was just a small mistake."

Azula glared down at her in disbelief. "Small? Do you realize what could've happened if I hadn't sensed the pit in time?"

"I suppose you could've...choked?" the servant stammered nervously.

Azula nodded. "Yes, then you will understand the severity of your crime."

The servant lowered her head. "I understand, Princess. Please, forgive me."

Azula sighed languidly and rolled her eyes. "Oh very well, since it is a special day, I will show mercy," she told her. There was a pause and the servant looked relieved before Azula scowled. "You are banished! Leave this palace immediately."

The servant bowed and quietly walked away. Sen was outside of the room and ushered her to the palace doors before Azula called after her. "Sen!" she yelled, "Get in here!"

Sen immediately rushed into the room and dropped to one knee. "Yes, Azula?"

"Pick up that bowl of cherries!" Azula barked, "And bring me something else."

Sen nodded and bowed. "Of course."

She left the room, but lingered a bit, staring back at Azula with concern.

"What are you all looking at?" she heard the princess growl at her servants. "I have two feet that need scrubbing. And make sure you get in between the toes. I won't have my first day as Fire Lord marred by poor foot hygiene."

As the days went by, Sen began to notice a strange change in her love interests' personality. Whenever Azula would talk, she acted as if the shadows themselves would jump out at her and assassinate her in the night. Sen would constantly try to console her, but it seemed that no matter what, Azula was dead set for the idea that she would be betrayed.

Who blamed her? After all, with Mai, Ty Lee, and Zuko's betrayal, it was no wonder she felt the way she did. She even had difficulty sleeping, even when Sen promised to stay away all night if she had to for her to get her well-needed sleep.

Of course she had one extremely bad night when Sen heard her screaming in her bedroom. She ran to her aid, even kicked the door down into a few pieces in the process before finding Azula in her robe and bed, hair a tangled mess and finger jerked uncontrollably to her closet. She was covered in a nervous sweat and her eyes wild.

"Azula, what is it?" Sen asked, anxiously.

"I saw someone!" Azula shrieked, pointing continuously at the closet, "He's there!"

Sen gave the door a quick look before she quickly moved to the closet, shoved several objects and clothes aside where she began to stomp around for any signs of an intruder. Azula watched her anxiously and Sen poked her head out of the large closet, shaking her head.

"There's no one here, Princess." she told her. "It must have been a shadow or something."

"He must be hiding!" Azula insisted, eyes wide and crazed, "Find him!"

Without question, Sen began to search madly around the room, turning things over and making sure Azula could see every little detail to ease her mind. After making perfectly sure that no one was in her room, Azula glanced uneasily upwards to the ceiling and Sen got the idea. She threw the windows open, swung up onto the roof of the palace and Azula could hear her footsteps as she moved quickly around to scan the entire palace roof tops for any signs of intruders.

Sen returned through the window, her hair covered in leaves. "All clear. No one's here."

Azula glanced at her hair and raised a brow, momentarily relaxing. "What happened to your hair?"

Sen smiled sheepishly. "I tripped and fell into a bush." she admitted, pulling strands of leaves and twigs from her hair.

Azula actually laughed slightly at that, a nervous collection of giggles and hiccups as she pictured a big girl like Sen falling into a bush, covered in bird mess and twigs. Sen's smile vanished and she stared at her sadly. It hurt to see her constantly calm and collected princess falling victim to her own fears like this.

"You have nothing to worry about, Azula," she promised, "No one foolish enough will dare lay a hand on you while I'm here. If they try, it will be the last thing that they ever do, I can promise you that." She slowly backed away to the doorway. "I'll be out here all night. If you need anything, just call." She stared down at the remains of the door and smiled sheepishly, picking them up and casually trying to fit them back on. "Sorry about your...door."

Azula sighed and plopped back down onto the pillow. Her voice was tired, strained and impassive this time. "Just leave it..."

But Sen did keep her word.

She stayed awake all night.

O

Azula was getting ready for her coronation and Sen decided to try again and write that letter to her. She decided to address it directly to her. Maybe if Azula knew that there was someone who loved her, she would not feel so afraid anymore. It was as good a day as any to do this.

She wrapped the scroll up and began to connect it to a messenger hawk, instructing the bird to simply return with it to Azula at a later date.

The sound of glass shattering jolted Sen from her spot and she quickly rushed off, just as the hawk took flight. Sen found Azula lying beside a pile of broken glass, sniffling and crying against the floor. She quickly rushed up and bent down to her, inspecting for any wounds.

"Azula, what happened?" Sen exclaimed.

Azula blinked dazedly before staring up at the mess of glass around her, seemingly in a trance before looking up at Sen. "I broke it."

"I can see, but are you hurt at all?" Sen asked, still not entirely positive that Azula was unscathed.

Azula looked up at her again, but this time, there was a change in her voice. She sounded as if her paranoid ways had taken hold of her and this time, they were directed onto Sen. "Why do you care anyway?" she hissed, "Aren't you disappointed that I'm still in one piece?"

Sen looked startled. "What?"

Azula squinted angrily at her and crawled on her hands and knees until she was directly in Sen's face. "You want me dead just like the rest of them, don't you?" she hissed in a very rapid procession of words, "Admit it, Sen! You are just a traitor as the rest of them!"

"But I'm not!" Sen protested, "Azula, I would never betray you!"

"That's what they all said!" Azula spat, in her face, "Before they turned on me! You were going to turn on me from the beginning, weren't..." She trailed off at the sight of Sen's messenger hawk flying about before it landed in front of the surprised princess. She gave Sen a dirty look before seizing the hawk tightly. It squawked in pain before she snatched the scroll from its foot and shooed it away. Sen felt sick as Azula studied the scroll for a moment.

"It's addressed to me..." the princess said, frowning.

Azula unraveled the scroll and her eyes roved over it for a few moments.

_I cannot begin to describe my feelings in words, but I will try not to bore you, my dear. My heart wishes to say what my lips cannot, what my mind will not let me. When I look at you, I do not see a lady to fear and despise, I see beauty, magnificence and radiance beyond even the spirits above. I wish to reach out to you, but fear you will not have me. Rejection ties me down on a thick rope to the ground while the insects mock me for my cowardice. I ask that you do not hold that against me for to speak to one so lovely would make the greatest being weak at the knees._

_I understand a woman as lovely as yourself would rather have another than me, someone who has a prettier face, a better soul to grasp. Hopefully, I will not feel frightened of rejection and I can only wish that you would love me in return. When you read this, hopefully you will understand that my feelings are real, I am real, and I hope that WE can be real. My heart, be it life or death, will always belong to you._

She blinked and her face slightly turned a shade of pink. "Who..." she began, startled, "Who would dare send me such..." Then, she paused and her lips tightened with anger. "Wait, I recognize this handwriting from somewhere."

Clenching the scroll, Azula glared furiously up at Sen. "Is this some kind of joke, Sen? Why would you write something like this to me, send it with a hawk when you were right here two minutes ago? Are you deliberately trying to joke with me?" She laughed slightly and nodded, figuring that was all it was. "That's right, it's a joke. A joke letter. Huh? Is that what this is? A joke letter?"

She laughed a little more before her smile and laugh died down when she realized that Sen looked dead serious and even pained. She frowned thoughtfully. "Except I've never heard of a joke letter before." Her eyes narrowed menacingly at Sen. "And you don't make jokes..." She held up the crumbled scroll. "Sen... Did you deliberately write this to me?"

Sen wavered a few moments more, realizing that Azula knew everything now. "Yes..." she answered, softly.

"And everything in this letter is true?"

"It is..."

Azula couldn't fathom such a thing. She couldn't begin to express her disgust through the broken fragments of her already frayed mind. To even be placed in a position like this...

"Get out of my house..."

"What?" Sen wasn't sure she heard right with the blood roaring in her ears.

"I said, GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Azula practically screamed, scrambling to her feet and nearly falling over, "You're banished, exiled, tossed out, cast away!"

Sen stared at her, visible pain in her eyes. She looked like less of a soldier now and more like a child who had been slapped for no reason. Her chest suddenly felt like someone was stepping on it multiple times and it even hurt to talk without feeling a hot lump forming in the back of her throat.

"Azula, please, let me explain...!" she begged. She fell to her knees, not having a care that it was undignified. "It wasn't what you are that I love, but who you are! I meant no dishonor to your..."

Azula snarled at her and swung her hand out, bending a jet of flame that narrowly missed Sen's head. "Either you leave now, or I give you a scar to match the other one!"

That was it. No reasoning for her, no explaining. Azula hated her. She wanted nothing more to do with her. So despite how heavy her feet felt, Sen gave her one final bow before turning and walking away, disappearing from the palace and the sight of her object of affection. As soon as she was outside the Fire Nation walls, Sen leaned against the stone walls for a long time in silence and finally, after holding it in for so long, she cried.

Hard.

O

_How long have I been walking?_

Sen had lost track of how far she'd traveled in the forest after abandoning her Komodo Rhino. She looked up as rain started to fall and groaned, closing her eyes and letting the cool water fall across her forehead. She took her mask off of her face and stared at it, the rain dripping down the eye sockets like tears. Sen stared down at it for a long time before she let out an anguished scream, sending it flying through the air with a forceful throw of her hand.

After wandering deeper into the forest, her stomach grumbled. Sen barely noticed it through the numb haze of pain. Eventually, she stopped long enough to kneel over a stream for a drink. It didn't matter if it was filthy or not. Sen no longer cared if it even made her sick.

Lightning flashed through the sky, lighting up the dark forest and playing a horrible illusion of her father. Her cruel, mocking father.

" _Where are you going, Sen?_ " he hissed.

Sen blinked through the rain. "I don't know..."

" _You're just running away,_ " her father's voice echoed - he was standing against a few trees, rather languidly, " _Running like you always do._ "

Sen closed her eyes weakly. "Who cares anymore?"

" _Why would you think the princess could ever love you?_ " her father's voice sneered, " _You're a very symbol of shame. Weak. Pathetic._ "

"Shut up!" Sen snarled, lunging at the illusion, only to have it vanish and have her crash into a brush.

She came back up, soaked in mud. The sound of a loud squealing sound alerted her to a wild boar-q-pine that charged into her side without warning, sending her stumbling through the mud. Sen felt searing pain shoot up from her hip and she staggered to her feet, only to see a wicked trail of blood gush from the place where the creature's tusks had gored her and several of its quills had stabbed into her leg. Sen glared up at the boar-q-pine as it pawed the ground - an aggressive gesture.

"Come on then!" Sen snarled.

The creature charged with a piercing squeal and slammed into her again. Sen grabbed its tusks, struggling to keep some traction on the ground with her feet and she was pushed back. Several of the quills stabbed into her arms and she clenched her teeth in pain. It hurt, but she pushed through it.

"You think you can hurt me worse than I've already been hurt?" she spat at the animal, as if it could easily respond to her - she was practically savage with despair and loathing, "I'll have to disappoint you then!"

The boar-q-pine let out a shriek and jerked its head, slicing Sen across the abdomen with its tusk. She screamed in agony before she was brutally forced onto her back. She struggled to stand, just as the boar-q-pine started pacing around her. Sen slowly followed suit, clutching her wounded abdomen that soaked her hand in blood.

Then, it charged.

Sen raised her other fist and unleashed a blast of violet flame that incinerated the creature into nothing more than cooked flesh.

Exhausted, the firebender began to stagger away. She was in so much pain and so very tired, not to mention starving. Her vision dimmed in and out.

_I'll just...rest for a little while._

Sen pitched forward and collapsed into the mud and her eyes closed as exhaustion overtook her.

_Just for a little while..._

O

But here, Sen found no peace, even in dream. She was standing in a dead, lifeless forest where nothing existed and no one lived, surrounded by skeleton trees drained of water and color. It was like living in a stereotypical nightmare. She looked around at the unnatural world before hearing a voice calling for her. A soft, familiar one.

"Sen..."

She turned then, wide-eyed at the sight of a middle-aged woman resting against one of the dead trees, head hanging low against her weak, slouching shoulders, long black hair hanging around her face and shoulders like a pitch dark veil. She was wearing tattered, slashed robes and her fingers were long and bony. Her feet were covered in mud and filth. Her face was hidden from view, but Sen didn't have to see it to know who she was.

"Mother?" Sen whispered, haunted.

"Yes, I am here..." the soft, dry voice of Chikako croaked. It sounded like she was constantly in misery, but that was how Sen remembered her. Always so quiet, so sad. She smiled sometimes, but even then, it did not hide the despair.

Sen looked away, closing her eyes with pain.

"You hate me, I can understand that, Sen," Chikako said, "I should have been the better mother that you needed me to be. I should never have let Arashi take my life."

"Take your life?" Sen scoffed, "You died of a fever, mother."

Chikako chuckled sadly, her bony shoulders weakly moving with the action. "Is that what he told you?"

Sen's felt her throat tighten. She dropped to her knees and felt her eyes burning with hot tears. She had lost so much already. Now with Azula banishing her from her home and her sight, Sen was so close to just accepting her inevitable demise.

"She was all that I had..." she moaned, tears dripping onto her shaking palms, "How could I have betrayed her?"

Chikako stared at her for a long time. "I see that you have learned your fathers ways, but you are not entirely lost, my daughter," she said, "You feel pain and regret, which was something Arashi could never grasp." She paused. "There was no betrayal, Sen. Azula has been blinded by the sins of her own father as well as her own personal fears. You gave her your heart even though you knew of the consequences, you are no coward to me, child."

"That means a lot coming from you!" Sen shouted, tears sliding down her cheeks.

Chikako sighed softly. "True love is brightest in its darkest of light, daughter," she told her, "Go back to her. She needs that more than anything."


	10. The Way It Can Be

~O~

After the falling rain, Iroh had been walking alone to survey the damages done near the campsite. He couldn't believe that he found what he did in those forests along the way; Sen's immobile body lying in the mud, covered with boar-q-pine quills.

"Captain Sen?" he gasped, rushing to her side.

He slipped his hands beneath her and turned her around, studying her filthy, scratched features before leaning forward with one ear to her lips, feeling a very faint breath emerging. She was still alive as far as he could tell, but barely. She must have been out here for the entirety of the storm. He was amazed that she was still breathing at all.

"General Iroh?"

Iroh looked back when he noticed Katara and Sokka approaching. Their eyes widened when she saw Sen in his arms and Sokka withdrew his sword, frantically waving it in her direction. "That's the crazy Fire Nation captain!" he cried.

Iroh looked at Katara. "She's still alive. She needs our help."

"Are you crazy?" Sokka exclaimed, glaring at him. "She's nuts! We can't help her!"

Iroh ignored him and stood up, carrying Sen in his arms. "Katara, I'm going to need you." he told her, "I know what Sen has done - her reputation in the Fire Nation is known among many - but," He stared down at the bloodied creature in his arms, his gaze softening, "I have a feeling something might have changed. She was out here alone in the storm."

Katara seemed hesitant. "General Iroh, are you sure?"

Iroh nodded his head. "Let's get back to camp."

Sokka groaned and slouched his shoulders, watching as the two started forward. He grudgingly followed behind them. "Does anybody ever listen to me when I say 'this is crazy'?" he griped, "Or am I talking to myself here?"

Iroh looked down at Sen and his features were piteous. "She'll have some explaining to do, that much is certain..."

O

Sen felt nothing but pain.

Her eyes opened and she found herself in a well-lavished tent. She was lying in a rolled-out comforter with a red blanket sporting the Fire Nation insignia. Sen struggled to sit up, but the pain that lanced through her body was so unbearable, she nearly threw up and fell back onto the pillows. She noticed that her armor had been removed and her abdomen patched up. She had a few bandages on her arms and felt some of them on her legs as well.

 _Wait...how did I get here?_ Sen wondered.

She looked up as Iroh stepped into the tent, carrying a tray of tea and food. He smiled. "Oh, you're awake. Good."

Sen frowned, confused. "General Iroh?"

"Relax, you're not among enemies here," Iroh assured her, "I've made you some tea and - "

Before he had a chance to finish, Sen was devouring the food on the tray - something similar to meat, but she was too hungry to care what it was - and gulping down the tea in a single swallow. Iroh watched her with surprise before he waited silently for her to finish. When she was done, he spoke.

"Sen, what happened out there?" he asked. "Why were you alone in the storm?"

Sen opened her mouth to speak, but when Zuko and Aang entered the tent, she glared at them. "You!" she spat.

Iroh quickly grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to remain before she could start fighting with the other two. "Enough, Sen!" he ordered, "You're going to agitate your wounds if you start picking fights!"

Sen glared at him in protest. "But - "

"No, Sen!" Iroh argued, "They are NOT your enemies!"

Sen eventually relaxed with a bitter snort when she realized that perhaps, he had been right. Zuko waited a few moments before he stepped forward. "So I guess you broke the truth to my sister, huh?"

"How'd you know?" Sen snapped, though she looked mildly surprised.

"You wouldn't have been wandering in the forest for no reason," Zuko replied. "Since you're here, I guess Azula didn't take it well?"

Sen didn't answer and simply looked away, pursing her lips tight. Aang took a careful step forward and sat down in front of her. "Sen, listen..." he said, "I know what it's like to feel something for someone you think won't love you back. It hurts, it really does. But - "

Zuko interrupted him. "My sister's insane, Sen!" he told her, "She doesn't care about anyone but herself. Did you really expect her to just accept you and throw herself into your arms?"

Iroh held up a hand. "Nephew! Easy..."

No, of course Sen didn't expect it. But it was better to have told her at all than let the idea consume her. She had to tell her. She had to tell someone.

"I wouldn't mind it..." Sen said quietly, her eyes filled with pain, "I would have not minded it if she wanted me gone. If she found me appalling or disgusting. So long as I was allowed to have that one moment with her. So... So long as she is happy, then I can be just the same."

"She can't be reasoned with!" Zuko protested.

Sen's gaze hardened. "YOU betrayed HER. You, Ty Lee, and Mai. You weren't there when it happened. Azula is, in fact, a formidable bender with considerable ability to detach herself from many things, but I was the one who witnessed her mental collapse. The betrayal took much more of a toll on her than you realize." Her eyes landed on Aang and Iroh. "It was worse than ANY ONE of you could ever realize."

Zuko and Aang tensed, bristling where they stood.

She glared at them for moments longer before sighing, features smoothing out of any fury. "Anything but her...no longer matters."

Just then, Momo flew into the tent and landed on Sen. She stared at the creature and he tilted his head with a curious chirp. Aang and Zuko looked surprised when Momo licked the firebender's nose and snuggled up into her lap. Sen stared down at the animal and rolled her eyes with a grumble, but lightly stroked his fur with one hand.

"Well, Momo likes her," Aang said, smiling.

Zuko groaned and covered his face with one hand.

O

Piandao was talking with Toph and Suki who were on board an eel hound when Sen emerged from the tent, struggling to fit her final armor piece on without wincing in agony. It was a little easier after drinking the tea Iroh had prepared, but she was still sore; still going to be in a lot of pain for a while.

She noticed Zuko and Katara on Appa and approached them.

"I'm going with you," she said.

Katara's gaze was gentler than Zuko's.

"What?" Zuko snapped, "You'll just get in the way!"

Sen's eyes narrowed. "I won't allow you to hurt her."

Zuko started to argue, but Katara interrupted him. "Sen, there may be something you can do," she said, with a small, almost kind smile. "You should come with us. We could use all the help we can get."

Sen smiled a little in response. The prince seemed disgusted with this, but offered no argument as Sen climbed into Appa's saddle with Katara and they took to the skies. The trip was sure to be awkward, but she didn't care.

Sen remained silent throughout the trip while Zuko and Katara discussed their plan in private. She barely even registered the orange sky, only thinking about Azula and what would happen once she returned to a place that she was banished from.

"Zuko, don't worry. We can take Azula." Katara assured him.

"It's not her I'm worried about. I'm worried about Aang," Zuko said, staring ahead, "What if he doesn't have the guts to take out my father? What if he loses?"

Katara shook her head with determination. "Aang won't lose. He's gonna come back. He has to."

Zuko didn't seem so sure.

Sen's mind was elsewhere besides the conversation. She only thought of Azula.

She would ask for forgiveness. No, even beg for it, if she had to.

"Sen..." Katara spoke, albeit carefully.

Sen looked at her, lips parting in surprise when she'd spoken. "Hi." she said. "What is it?"

"I know this is going to sound a little...weird," Katara told her, "But I'm sorry. About Azula. About what happened."

Sen blinked a few times, fighting the emotion. "Mm, I...I know that sorry won't really fix what I've done to all of you."

Zuko frowned at that, but didn't speak.

"I'm...I'm just seeing things differently." Sen continued. "I feel like such a fool and I...I don't want to do it anymore."

Katara nodded slightly. She gave her a sympathetic smile.

Once they arrived, the Fire Nation Capital didn't exactly welcome them as expected. Appa had to dodge through the air to avoid the blasts of fire from the benders below and nearly collided into several buildings in the process.

Sen jumped from Appa and landed in the street as several firebenders clad in armor charged for her. She looked up at Zuko and Katara, calling up. "I'll take care of this! Just go!" she ordered. Once Appa disappeared over the buildings, Sen turned her attention to the benders.

"Captain Sen, you have been banished from the Fire Nation Capital!" one of the benders said, raising his fist.

"Banish this!" Sen spat.

She performed a fierce swing of her leg, sending a violet wave of fire at the benders. The blast sent them flying through the air before Sen bent another wave of fire vertically, slamming them into the ground with the force of it. It hurt performing the motions, but she fought through the pain. Spirits, did she have to fight through it.

While they were immobile, she rushed down the street and stopped a soldier astride a Komodo Rhino. He was so startled by her presence, he barely had a chance to defend himself. She grabbed his ankle and yanked him from the creature before climbing onto it herself.

"Hey!" the soldier yelled after her.

The Komodo Rhino raced through the streets, riding with the very determination of the Captain on its back.

 _Azula...I'm coming..._ Sen promised.

When she turned a corner, the Komodo Rhino skidded to a halt. In front of her stood several Fire Nation soldiers, poised to attack. Sen's eyes narrowed with venom. This would definitely take some time to deal with.

"Let me pass and you won't have to die." she warned, with a show of her teeth.

"No! Turn back and YOU won't have to die!" a soldier shot back.

Sen groaned with frustration and her violet flames appeared around a single clenched fist. "Fine."

Meanwhile, Azula was moments away from being crowned the next Fire Lord. She was anxious and frantic to get it over with, but the sages stopped and looked ahead in surprise. Azula scowled and glared back at them.

"What are you waiting for? Do it!" she ordered.

Appa's bellowing roar was heard in the distance Azula turned back around to see Appa landing in the plaza courtyard. Zuko and Katara stepped down from the animal and he faced his sister with determination.

"Sorry, but you're not gonna become Fire Lord today. I am." he snapped.

Azula merely laughed mockingly. "You're hilarious."

"And you're going down." Katara said, standing in a waterbender stance.

The Fire Sage was just about to crown Azula the new Fire Lord, regardless of what Katara and Zuko have just said, until Azula signaled with her hand for him to stop. "Wait," she ordered him. She stood up from her kneeling position and smirked at her brother. "You want to be Fire Lord? Fine. Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"

Zuko glared at her, nodding. "You're on."

Katara turned to face Zuko, very surprised by this. "What are you doing? She's playing you," she whispered, "She knows she can't take us both, so she's trying to separate us."

Zuko glanced at her. "I know. But I can take her this time," he assured her, "There's something off about her; Sen mentioned that she had a mental breakdown. I don't know exactly, but she's slipping. And this way, no one else has to get hurt."

Katara looked hesitant, but nodded.

O

Sen stood around piles of Fire Nation soldiers, lying on the ground in pain. Most of them had been killed by her attacks, but a few remained alive; wounded and immobile. She herself had suffered burns across her armor and her older wounds had been agitated to the point that they bled again, but she was determined to reach the palace at any cost.

She started to climb back onto her Komodo Rhino when the sound and sight of lightning emerging from the palace plaza made her look back in horror.

 _Nonononononono..._ she thought frantically.

The Komodo Rhino sprinted toward the palace walls and Sen bent a blast of fire that completely destroyed the double doors to splinters. Sen rushed into the plaza, stunned to find Azula bound in chains on a water grate. She was lying on her side, frantically thrashing about and sobbing. Sen climbed off of the Komodo Rhino, pushed passed Katara and Zuko and knelt to Azula's side.

"Azula!" she cried, "Azula, stop!"

The Fire Nation Princess screamed and sobbed, fighting Sen as she wrapped her arms protectively around her, attempting to keep her from hurting herself. Zuko and Katara watched the scene in silent shock, saying nothing or attempting to stop what was going on. Azula's hands were tightly bound, so she couldn't really fight back when Sen held her.

"Shhh, it's okay. It's okay," Sen soothed, "It's going to be okay."

Azula screamed tearfully at her before she exhausted herself and finally relaxed, crying in Sen's shoulder harder than Zuko had ever heard her cry before. In fact, he never once heard his sister cry like that in his life.

Sen hesitantly reached up and patted her head, a gentle touch that didn't linger. She was afraid she would cross the line in some way, so she continued to just soothe the princess by rocking gently back and forth as if she was comforting a child.

Zuko watched the sight with amazement. Though he had no idea before, he could see it now just by watching Sen's eyes that it was true.

She really did love his sister.

"I'm here," Sen assured her. She smiled weakly. "I know it's not much, but I'm here."

Disoriented, Azula looked up at her, smelling the burns on her armor and seeing the wounds she'd suffered. "Sen?" she mumbled.

Sen smiled at her, though her gaze was cautious.

Azula didn't make any further argument and sighed, as if exhaustion finally overtook her. She closed her eyes and leaned into the other woman.

Sen's body was exhausted as she embraced Azula, kneeling on the grate. She smelled her own blood, her wounds from the Boar-Q-Pine torn open. Her body was aching from running, fighting. But she was so relieved to have made it, saved Azula from what she felt was her death.

"You're...alright, Azula..." she breathed, "I'm so glad."

Sen let out a long, exhausted sigh and collapsed to the marble floor of the courtyard and both Zuko and Katara went to her aid.

O

Sen was laying there, bloody and broken. Katara knelt down to her and Sen groaned softly.

"Oh, you're alive!" Katara gasped, relieved.

Sen nodded weakly, reaching out for her. Katara took her hand and helped her by letting her lean on her shoulder. Sen looked around, then her eyes widened when she saw Azula was gone.

"Where is she?" she gasped.

"Sen, wait," Katara didn't look at her. "We need to get you help."

"WHERE IS SHE?" Sen shouted, frantic now.

She didn't wait for an answer and rushed through the palace to find Azula. She could hear voices and fought through the exhaustion and pain to reach them.

Zuko was there with many others and they were taking her away in chains. Sen groaned pleadingly, stepping in front of them.

"No, no, no, please!" she begged. "Please, don't take her away!"

Zuko shook his head, speaking softly. "Sen, we have no choice."

"You have a choice!" Sen shrieked, her voice desperate. "You can't do this to her! She doesn't need to be locked away, she needs help. You can't give up on her. You're her brother, for Spirit's sake!"

Azula was thrashing in her chains, spitting with wrath. "Don't touch me!" she shouted, up at the guards.

Sen was on her knees now, begging the prince. "Please, I'm begging you, don't do this."

Zuko read the desperation in her expression, glanced at those watching. He sighed and shut his eyes before nodding.

"Okay, Sen."

Sen let out a relieved laugh and those around Zuko couldn't believe what they were hearing. She approached Azula and the other girl stared through her.

"Azula, we're going to get you someplace safe," Sen assured her, "Somewhere you can get the help you need."

When she started to unravel the chains, Azula began to struggle, eyes widening. Sen tried to calm her, but she started struggling more.

"No, no..." Azula hissed.

"Azula, please, it's alright."

"No, Sen, I won't!"

Katara winced and watched the scene with anguish as Sen struggled to calm Azula down. "You must!" Sen pleaded, "They'll take you away if you don't! I - Zuko, please!"

O

Sen wrapped her arms around Azula, listening to her anguished wails and screams as she thrashed.

Sen clenched her teeth, eyes filling as she struggled to help them get her into the facility. Her physical strength surpassed Azula's, but she didn't want to hurt her.

Azula was screaming at her, at everyone around her. She cursed them all, cursed their families and everyone who came before them.

This was destroying Sen; having to hold her steady like this with her hands closed around her wrists in a crisscross fashion against her chest. It was like holding an armful of wriggling eels. Azula just wouldn't sit still.

"Azula, please..." she pleaded.

"Shut up!" Azula screamed, over and over as tears poured down her cheeks; her horrible wails came like a mantra, echoing through the corridors of the institution, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

O

_Several years later..._

The new Fire Lord observed the sight with impatience.

Zuko wasn't thrilled with how often Sen had gone to see his sister at the mental institution. He never thought it was a safe thing for her, but Aang had reassured him constantly that "it was a good chance for Azula and Sen to heal".

He had watched Sen travel where the prisoners were held every single day, knowing that it had to be supervised. Iroh even reminded him that it was good that they had each other in a world that wouldn't have them.

Though Sen was in a much better mood too. He'd never seen her as happy as she was.

"Thank you, Fire Lord Zuko," Sen told him, giving him a proper bow when they arrived at the island.

She was dressed in fancy Fire Nation attire and carried a pouch of food. Zuko permitted this only after he'd surveyed what she brought with her.

Sen was led to Azula's cell by two doctors and the princess smiled when she saw her. Though Azula was bound tightly in a straight jacket, safety was always a concern even still; so they kept her in a chair during the day when she had visitors and made sure she couldn't move properly.

"Sen, did you bring me something today?" Azula asked. She curled her nose at the two doctors standing by the cell door. "These fools have NO IDEA what food is."

Sen smiled and nodded. "I did."

"Good." Azula replied, straightening a bit in her chair, "I always look forward to real food in the afternoon." She smiled. "So, what IS on the menu today?"

Sen sat down in front of her at the edge of her bed and began taking out a few dishes. "Well, I brought Roast Duck...Mochi...Sea Soup in case you're still hungry later...Tart Pie..." While she was listing off the food, she occasionally heated them up with firebending in the process.

"Mmm, those are some of my favorites!" Azula said.

Sen smiled sheepishly. "I know. Um...Ty Lee told me."

"Of course." Azula rolled her eyes with a murmur of amusement.

Sen picked up a set of chopsticks and decided to feed the Roast Duck to the Princess first. Azula was often very annoyed with the fact that she had to be fed like a child, but Sen suggested that it was easier than trying to eat her food with her face.

Azula wasn't keen on the idea of looking undignified, so she figured that being fed was easier. The two doctors watching whispered to Sen about how Azula had been on special medicine at the time to make her more pleasant to handle.

Azula studied Sen's features for a moment before she smirked, finishing a bite. "Sen, are you...wearing makeup?" she asked.

Sen looked flustered and shifted a bit. "Um...I might be."

"You are, aren't you?" Azula laughed, "I've never seen you wear it before!"

Wearing makeup did make Sen's facial scars look somewhat less obvious; even the permanent grimace of her face didn't seem quite as bad. She had all but stopped wearing a mask and felt that it wasn't proper to do so anyway when she visited the Princess. Azula had found it rather adorable that a fierce fighter like Sen behaved like an awkward school girl whenever she visited her.

"W-Well, Ty Lee, Suki and Katara may have had a hand in it," Sen said, smiling with embarrassment. "They've come around a little. Just a little, though. They wanted to help. I think they like the idea."

"I thought you didn't like to wear it."

"Well, I don't," Sen answered, timidly. "I just...wanted to look nice for you."

The comment went by appreciated. Something about how genuine it seemed had been better than most sycophants who spoke to Azula time and time again. "Hm. Well, it's always proper to dress appropriately in the presence of royalty," Azula agreed.

Sen smiled. "Of course."

After finishing some of the food, Azula pressed Sen to talk about what she'd been doing in the outside world and how "Zuzu" was behaving as the Fire Lord. Most of the stories weren't nearly as interesting as Azula had thought they'd be, but it was nice to engage in intelligent conversation for a change.

While Sen was talking, Azula eventually had a question and interrupted her.

"Sen. There's something I was meaning to ask you for some time now."

Sen blinked, startled. "What is it?"

"I know what I am and I know many flocked to my feet always," Azula continued, airily. "But you? You had feelings for me without acting on them. From the first time you met me. You feel...differently." She squinted at her, thoughtful. Despite the dark rings around her eyes, somehow she looked like her old cool, calculating self again. "What was it?"

Sen shrugged her shoulders before smiling, cheeks darkening. "I don't know exactly, really." she admitted, "I admired your spirit, perhaps. You weren't afraid to be anything you wanted to be. I admired that."

Azula smirked now, leaning back in her seat a bit. "Of course you did."

Sen laughed quietly, albeit shyly.

"Sen, I must apologize," one of the doctors spoke now, hesitantly, "But your time is up."

Sen exhaled impatiently, but nodded in agreement. Well, she wasn't given much time and from the looks of Azula's annoyed expression, it bothered her as well. Still, she gave a dramatic chuckle and rolled her eyes.

"Carry on, Sen. Rules are rules in the nuthouse." she told her.

"Yes, I suppose." Sen stood up now. "It's never enough time."

Azula nodded. "Well, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow?"

Sen smiled. "Always."

She stood up and gave Azula a respectful bow and started to go, but Azula's voice halted her.

"I'll be counting the seconds." she said.

Sen grinned and nodded.

"Of course, princess."

When she left the island, she began to recall how the end of the war changed things - including herself. For one thing, she no longer felt shame about her appearance, she also no longer bent flame into a dark violet color.

Her aura - and her fire - was red and as vibrant and passionate as the sun.


End file.
